Fun on the Plans

This adventure is getting very exciting. I would have never had guess it would lead to me heading to the outer plans that a vision telling me to go help some paladins would lead to traveling to the planes. It is thou. Ragnarr and I are going to the outer plans in a bit to help protect a young, but very old girl named Leaf. Leaf is very powerful and could easily be used for evil. So we decided we would part ways with the group and go hide. I think it will be for the best. Hopefully the group can push on and make this world safe again and we can come back, but we hide. The only nice thing is I am going to learn some very interesting thing while being out there. Who knows maybe there is magic out there that I have never heard of. This could be a lot of fun.

Ragnarr: Waiting for Dinner

Pelor was right. I can't imagine any place safer than Sigil for Leaf to hide in.

It's the loneliest, most isolated place we could possibly have come to. Unique architecture, I'm sure. A fascinating populous from all parts of the planes. Complete neutrality and walls that make any keep on Earth look like they just weren't trying.

A lonely place, though. Not a lot of dwarves in the plane-hopping business. Out this far, frankly not a lot of anything I'd recognize. Any Prime Material Wizard would go crazy with glee at just the number of new things to learn.

And Ryan has. I've never seen him so excited. He's never had so much to learn from so many people, and he's a polite enough lad that most folks seem happy to teach him. If it's ever safe to return home, he'll be able to live a long and wealthy life just letting other wizards copy the obscure knowledge he's got in his books.

If. It's a big if.

I spend all the time I can with Leaf. She never remembers anything past a few days ago, which makes it hellishly slow to teach her something as simple as "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." Especially when you have to start with "being obliterated from existence would not be a fun experience."

And I gather she hasn't aged in thousands of years. She may never be ready to make her own decision as to whether to join the fight or not. The best I can hope for is to keep her safe, here, and do what I can before I die an old man.

From what I gather, all that might happen in an afternoon back home.

But the girl may be key. She's the staff-makers daughter, it seems. If the staff was made for Elaina, I can only imagine her daughter could wield it, too, if she's ever ready to take up that mantle.

I just don't know that she'll ever be.

I'm so far gone from home that Pelor doesn't hear my prayers out here. Except, perhaps, that he show me where the good liquor is.

Because the liquor is fine. And some nights, it's the only thing that will let me sleep in this damn city of mirrors.

Giornale di Aurelia

I write this after a most interesting fight. I have a few moments of respite before we get the hell out of here.

We made it further through the place with minimal fights. Though we did have some invisible enemies that it took forever to find! Misteria called forth a mist to hide our locations. Then Chris figured out how to cast and he made everyone sparkly, so we at least knew where everyone was. It took a lot but we managed to clear our path. I scouted ahead while Misteria waited for the mist to clear. It apparently follows her. After scouting ahead, I found the front door. That means the only place that our goal can be is down that dark hole.

We made it down the hole only to find an undead Alcander. I would say this is the place. It took a lot of effort and many near deaths. But UA was defeated. On the far side of the room was a crystal with another part of the staff.

Most of us went back up the rope. Ragnarr and Misteria are still below in the hole. They are going to see what they can do about the staff.

And as I write this, a peculiar voice has come booming up from below. Does this mean Alcander is back amongst the living? Am I done with this silliness of Hercules?

Musings of Mistera - Woes of the Weak

I do not know what to do with Tupper.

I've heard from some of his comrades that he's a good lad, but I'm not convinced. He's evasive, cowardly and clumsy.

I had some doubt in my first impressions until the middle of a Drow battle, where a Dire Wolf was summoned in the middle of our party. Tupper was knocked over by the wolf, and I came to his aid, swinging my quarterstaff overhead to crack the wolf's skull. The wolf deftly evaded, then swept his powerful paws, claws raking into my flesh and knocking me clean to the ground next to Tupper.

I continued to swing. Tupper ducked and hid, shifting the wolf's attention to me.

Coward.

If he does it again, I swear, I'm cracking his skull clean in twain.

From the Journal of Hrogar

I helped kill Alcander.

That is to say, I helped to kill him again.

I'm not sure if I should feel good about that or bad. I'll simply state that I'm happy he's no longer a Death Knight and that soon we should be able to release his soul from being controlled by the Drow (hopefully, one should never assume dealing with magic will be easy, especially powerful magic). After that, we'll have to figure out where to go next. We could chase after the Drow, but that seems like an unnecessary diversion.

Attached to the crystal holding Alcander's soul is a part of some powerful staff the group has apparently had some dealings with previously. I'll have to ask them more about that. I think I heard them say there was more to it. Perhaps we should try to find the rest of it? Alternatively, we might want to go after another of the strongholds of the Enemy.

Either way, I should send a message back to my mentor and family back in Point of Origin, they need to be kept up to date on what's happening. I'm curious if the city leadership is aware of the current threat from the Enemy and if they are doing anything about it. I would hope by now that the answer is yes to both of those questions. But I fear that the Enemies influence extends far and wide, and may be working to tie up the city with other distractions.

Let the spells commence

So I determine how the Drow were casting spells. It seems the wands that they carry allow them to pull the energy for spells from elsewhere. I am not sure where it is drawing it’s magic from or how much it can draw. So I am going to take it easy with the spells. I will try and stick with some of my weaker spells. There is no reason why I should risk it. So no fun spells like fireball or lighting for now, unless we have no choice.

I think we should be fine we have just killed a death knight and we Ragnarr is going to try and release the spirit in the crystal. So hopefully he can break it and we can be on our way. I do not want to be here much longer or there might be some reinforcements on their way and we are running low on healing spells. We also will not be able to dispel to many more darkness spells.

Ragnarr: The Trouble with Leaf

If there's one thing I can't complain about, it's boredom. The gods have certainly made certain I'm not that.

They've sent us a new one, it seems. A mousy sort with a temper better suited to wolverines.

Did I mention she's a druid? She seems to spend half her time as a mouse, and likes to summon wolverines. Useful, certainly, and she seems quite good at what she does, but she has a shortage of patience with some of the others, Tupper in particular, that I worry about. I mean, I'll be the first to agree that Tupper's a wee bit of an idiot sometimes, and certainly she's angry with him for good reasons, but he's a good lad. I'd hate to see him eaten.

Though it may be a kinder fate than what we're in for, I imagine.

We also met a girl by the name of Leaf. A little girl, though she might be older than we imagine. And innocent. I mean truly innocent, to the point of not really understanding what this whole "death" thing is or why anyone wouldn't want to go there. We found her, we thought, kidnapped by the Drow, though it seems she asked them to take her instead.

Frankly, she terrifies me. She has power to rival damned impressive wizards, but with none of the morality, none of the experience that might tell her not to blast the frog into a million pieces, so to speak.

To make matters worse, I had a vision given to me by part of that staff we found a piece of, earlier. A vision of it's power, of what it could do. And a whisper, from it. "All this could be yours."

I've heard one too many stories about magic items that want to be used. Sure, you could argue that they're just stories, but there's some things that would seem too damn silly to pass on if you didn't sugarcoat it. And pretty much any story you like says the same things: stay away from those items. They'll be the death of you every time.

Particularly given that, if I understand the vision right, it works by channeling Leaf's powers. We'd have to turn the poor girl into a weapon, to make her a killer on a scale she'd never dream of.

And for what? We'd win the war, aye. Perhaps even save the world. But what a bunch of bastards we'd have saved the world for, if this is what we're willing to do to save ourselves.

But what other choice is there? The staff exists, and our enemies are looking for it. I frankly don't even know if we could destroy this damn thing.

And Leaf? What are we to do with her? Our enemies would love to get our hands on such a girl, and who knows what they would teach her. We can't turn her over to an orphanage, or even a foster family. She makes the family dog disappear, obliterates the family house, and then what? At best, she's not welcome with that family any more, and at worst, she's burned at the stake as a witch.

Gods, I'd hate to see what was left of the village that tried that.

One way or another, perhaps we need to care for this girl, to try and instill her with a sense of morality, to perhaps bring her to a point where she can make the choice, to be a weapon or not. If that's a choice she'll ever be able to make.

But it's a dangerous road we travel, and I'd hate it if something should happen to her, or is she fell into the hands of our enemies. I could never forgive myself for that.

And the staff? Do we use it's power and perhaps risk our souls?

Aye, that's a matter I'll have to discuss with the paladins. That and the matter of Leaf, and whether it would be better for one of us to take her, try and teach her, vanish into the mountains and hide until she's ready.

Ready for... whatever it is she needs to do. Damned if I know.

Pelor, if you're listening: I know you like to let me find my own way, but if you've got any advice here, I wouldn't say no.