Since the spell was terminated, there is no reason I need to leave my room in a hurry, so I do my usual morning routine. I flip through my spellbook and select a couple of cantrips that I don’t normally use—especially in town. One that can be used to detect pathways, even hidden or ethereal, and the one I used… Read more →
Passage 46: The Watcher
I wake up and sense my surroundings before opening my eyes or stirring. It feels as though someone is watching me, but my ward has not alerted me of any trespassing. Either it was dispelled or something else is going on. I’m on my back, so the dagger under my pillow is out of reach. I shall have to remedy… Read more →
Passage 45: The Ease
I focus back on the scene before me. Rakatha, no surprise, has gratefully accepted the offer. I, on the other hand… “I will handle my own lodgings.” There is no retort to this answer but I know it won’t keep Vong from trying. “Ah, I gotcha. You probably have some Wizard-only club. That’s sweet! Offer is open though.” Vong seems… Read more →
Passage 44: The Order
Vong swings the door open wide and shuttles us through. Immediately, I regret coming. Half the people, workers and patrons alike, greet Vong by name or knowing wave. He is buoyant and goes around greeting some of the customers while Rakatha and I mill about uncomfortably. Or at least we would have if Rakatha did not make a beeline for… Read more →
Passage 43: The Treat
Vong turns to Rakatha and I, shrugging his massive pack onto his shoulders. What else could he possibly have to say, and why is he always smiling? “Hey, dinner is on me. I know a place,” his face scrunches into a mischievous grin that, with his black top-knot, makes him appear a little like a squash. He turns to step… Read more →
Passage 42: The Report
With the setting sun on the seventh day, we arrive back in Nodkis and check in with the Adventurer’s Corps. Surprisingly, Corporal Level is still there and crowds us into his cramped office almost immediately for our report. He glances at his ledger, “C-4, around Tullikins. How’d it go?” Level smiles and waits patiently to write it all down. I’d… Read more →
Passage 41: The Spot
We return to the edges of Tullikins farmville by a slightly different path and, as dumb fucking luck would have it, stumble upon another patrol being attacked by a small band of goblin archers. The patrol is at a disadvantage in a small gully lined with trees where the goblins have both cover and the high ground. The goblins outnumber… Read more →
Passage 40: The Stray
Vong looks up from his cleaning and grins also. I don’t think he has any idea what he is grinning about but is simply glad for the opportunity to do it with others. Voella’Tien is still attending to the man as we crowd around his unconscious form. “I think we should take him back to town,” says Vong. “He’s starving.… Read more →
Passage 39: The Beguilement
Immediately he digs into the ground and charges, howling like a madman and frothing at the mouth. I do the only logical thing: I mind control him. Yes, he might have resisted my control if he got lucky and was really concentrating but, in his mental state, sliding into his mind takes almost no effort. Rakatha stops short of Vong… Read more →
Passage 38: The Tangle
Voella’Tien’s divine magic envelops us and I feel the blessing’s energy shielding me from harm. A second spell is cast and I feel her will, trying to sense me, press on my will. Normally I would try to resist these types of spells—I don’t need someone reading my thoughts or assessing my motives—but this spell is known to me so… Read more →