Journal of Lt. Tupper, Day 176-192a

Day 176
An intruder in the camp last night: a malicious illusionist. We managed to capture him alive. This is all I wish to record on the subject, as I wish to slowly rebuild my faith in the overall competency of our group.


Day 180
Night watch saw a circle of ten ghosts in the woods, one of which was the now-infamous elf woman. That, coupled with a dream… vision… thing in which she thanked me for 'freeing' her, is a bad sign. So the gravesite's been activated, but how? Did someone else stumble upon it, or was it only a matter of time? What did it actually do? Is this a sign of weal or woe? Am I finally rid of those embarrassing dreams? Will I ever be able to answer any of these questions? Bah.


Day 182
Smoke on the horizon. Looks to be coming from the town next to the gravesite. We've been moving in to investigate.


Day 183
Last night the prisoner disappeared. Aerialla tried to track where he went, with no success. Khris tried to dispel any spells in effect, with no success. Jacob tried peering into the invisible spectrums for him, with no success. Arcadius tried stabbing the cart where the prisoner had been, and found the little bastard. If we are the best hope for defending Point of Origin, then they better start evacuating the city now.

As for the town, it's in ruins. No corpses, no weaponry, just footprints and debris. The entrance to the tomb looks like it was hit by a siege engine. Naturally my interest in finding out what they were seeking to hide down there was viewed upon as the lustings of a romantic by the others.

We're following the footprints west out of town, towards the coast.


Day 184
The trail lead into the water. Signs of boats hauled up on the beach, as well as campsites. We found a pot in the sand that was full of gas, 5 quartz crystals, needles and ink, and a black crystal ball at the bottom. Attempts to mangle the contents went as expected, which was nowhere. Nothing else of note in the area.

Heading back towards Izmir.


Day 191
Izmir, just as I left it. Well, save that they replaced the cart. And the acid crater dried up.

Ragnar turned in the illusionist to the authorities before he and Arcadius visited with Grungar's mother. Apparently, Grungar has what it takes to be a paladin. The potential for sarcastic commentary on this development is far too great. He's leaving for Point of Origin tomorrow to join up with the Order, and I can't say I'll really miss him. I don't know, it just seems like every time we lose a yahoo we gain another one soon afterwards.


Day 192
Oh gods damn it.

The seneschal sent a small army to arrest all of us last night. The officer in charge, a Captain Ooler, had one of those damn crystal pendants. I'd like to be hopeful and positive, but if 'They' are this far inland then Point of Origin is likely also under 'Their' control. Hells' bell. For the record, the crimes were kidnapping, highway robbery, and assault of that damn wizard. Those would be valid charges if he didn't attack first (and he damn well did); and when it's the word of an illusionist against the word of paladins, and when you're as thick in the head as the seneschal, then the course of action is clear.

Fortunately, Miranda came around and vouched for us later in the day. But, after a modest 100 gold fine, we discovered that a very important staff of ours fell off the gear roster during the night. The seneschal said he'll find somebody to look into it. I'm willing to bet that person will be big on unrefined jewelry.

After that, Grungar took the opportunity to leave for Point of Origin. May St. Cuthbert watch over him, as he'll need a lot of adult supervision and will likely eat his letters of recommendation on the way.