Dad,
Ugh. Am I a fuck up? So, we went to that cave to get the crawler poison and that task was completed fairly easily. I think it was so easy because of the new addition to our party as well as the fact the team is working so much better together. Atheya is the new addition by the way. Like Miriam, she appears to be able to shift into beast forms, so I’m fairly certain she’s also a druid. I wonder if she from the same circle as Miriam, or better still if she knows of her!
Anyway, after we harvested what we needed from the crawlers, Corvus found a temple-like area at the back of the cave. It was very odd. Cut stone and magically trapped columns and a side chamber all in this random cave. On a pedestal at the back of the “temple” there was a chest. EDWarD triggered a trap while I was checking out the contents of the chest and we were attacked by these statues. It was a close battle, as Nirruk was completely out of the fight for some time since he decided to get drunk in the middle of the battle and Atheya got turned to stone. We were eventually successful though and after a rest I went back to the chest to continue to see what was in it. I found some Exaltium potions and another one of those golden cubes I talked to you about before!
Here’s where the dumb shit starts to happen though. Without thinking or caution, I threw the cube into my bag of holding and in hindsight I now realize that the cube must have some extra-dimensional properties as we were all immediately shunted to what I believe was a place in the Astral Sea. Yes. You read that right, Dad. The ASTRAL SEA!! But not just anywhere either. We arrived in a location where there were a circle of floating stone platforms. On each of the platforms there were colored portals. Now, having been the reason that we were there in the first place, I wanted to be extremely cautious about what we touched, however Captain Chaos (Atheya) jumped right into a blue portal on the nearby platform.
Again, retrospectively, it was a boon and folly that she did that and that we followed. Dad, this place was a library unlike any I think I or anyone will ever see! Simply thinking of something you wished to know would conjure a book from the shelves, IF you had the mental determination, strength, and capacity to will it into your hands. … I found a book related to that, creature, that took you from us... Corvus found a book that would make us stronger, which later would actually bolster both he and York. Other attempts at retrieving other knowledge from the shelves were attempted, but none were successful, and for a while there, I suffered from a form of mental shock.
We decided to leave the Library and we found ourselves back in the main platform area. Once there we all noticed something odd though. York and Atheya appeared older. All of our food stuffs had rotted. Now, my brain wasn’t firing all pistons at the time, but I could still comprehend that a significant amount of time had passed. You’ll see how this bites us hard in the ass later.
We spotted what we believed would be a portal that could return us to the Material Plane, but again curiosity was a stronger lure than focus and caution to some of us and following Nirruk’s lead we entered another portal. This one was yellow. In there we found a hall of mirrors which upon touching them, you are shifted to this “mirror world” where you must fight all of the mirror images. It wasn’t too dangerous though. As I mentioned before, we’ve become a very cohesive fighting force, and we’re learning to use our abilities in a complimentary manner. Well… most of of that is. York’s mirror image put him to shame. We all saw how he could be an absolute monster in combat. I wonder if he knows that and is just holding back, or if it’s something else. Hmm.
Anyway, Corvus, Nirruk, and myself were the only ones left standing at the end of it all and we were “rewarded” by the hall of mirrors. My reward was seeing how you and Mom became my parents. Dad? What did you do? Where did you get that other baby from? I thought you guys found me. I thought my people left me out to die. I’m not angry at you or Mom, because as far as I’m concerned you two ARE and will forever be my Mom and Dad and after seeing what you two went through, I understand the desperation. My bigger concern is what about the parents that lost their child? Who were they? What did this Withered One do with that child? MAybe the book I found will provide some insight… Umm, yeh, so Corvus’ reward was seeing his sister, who apparently he’s been searching for. Nirruk didn’t really talk about what he saw, but judging from Corvus’ and my Experiences and Nirruk’s brooding and sobbing, it must’ve been terrible memory or event from his past.
Whatever it was, it was enough to finally return the focus of him and the rest to try to find a way back. When we got back however, it wasn’t good at all.
Time HAD indeed passed here. A year to be exact! A fucking year, Dad!! We were transported back to the Glade and everything had fucking changed! The guards were wearing different colors, Amber and Silt were gone from the smithy, and worst of all, Wyldworks was boarded up and Mom had been taken away with Amber and Silt to Woodberry!! Yes, THAT Woodberry! That piece of shit has them! And it’s likely because he thought we had bailed. I’m so angry. Angry at myself for not being cautious and taking the time to examine that damned cube. Angry at us for continuing to explore that place even though we had a sense of the passage of time. Angry that we weren’t here to stop that fucking mindflayer! It wasn’t just the Glade he took over either. He razed Falaton and has captured most of the other settlements and towns in the Undying Grove! I’m hoping Mira is ok and that we can find her...
My resolve is firmly set, Dad. No more games, no more reckless actions. I’m going to rescue Mom, Amber and Silt and anyone else he has take. Then I’m going to end that monster! I need to make sure the rest of the team is ready to do this as well. Especially Nirruk. I don’t know how to get to him, Dad. I know he’s been through some shit, but I need him to stop shutting down and fight back. We all need him to do that. He’s got power beyond anything I’ve seen. I can sense it. I wish he would just understand that He’s not alone in this fight. If he keeps folding into himself, more people will suffer and more lives will be lost. I wish you were here to help me figure out how to talk to him. You were always good with understanding how to… navigate the emotional needs and terrain when dealing with others.
I’m gonna get Mom back, Dad. Mark my words. I will be smart about it. Of note, I’ve made some progress with the thing I was trying to invent to impress you. I guess I can now just talk about it freely and “consult” with you as I progress. Crossbows are great, but they just aren’t as effective as I need them to be. I’ve been able to enchant stones that are more damaging. I’ve recently made some progress in creating small explosions. The explosion idea came to me during my first experience with this group. I had disarmed this trap, which had a can of compressed poisonous gas within it. The can later exploded anyway, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the applications of a compressed gas, exiting it’s container rapidly. The top popped off, which got me to thinking, that any object could be propelled away from exploding gases if there was a sufficient pushing force created by the rapidly expanding gas… I feel like I’m on to something, but I’ll need a bit more time. Hopefully not too much more, because if I’m right, I think I can somehow make my bolts move faster and therefore more deadly with this compressed gas idea, which would be extremely helpful in this inevitable fight against the mind flayer piece of shit...
Ok, I need to read that book now. I love you Dad. Miss you a lot too. I’m sorry I fucked up in protecting Mom, but I will make it right, I promise!
Forever Your Son, Wulf
No comments:
Post a Comment