Characters:
- Florian
- Teslan
- Tristan
- Doc Rhyem
We started at the Lake of Crystal Tears and made our way North through the Jinxwode. Do okay to start, but the dense forest likes to play its games. Weird mushrooms here—had these spots like… I don’t know. It’s like they had faces. But maybe that’s just me.
Came across some graves, or what’s left of them. No corpses. Headstones were gone. The others mentioned some local witch had been doing work with them. Thankfully, that’s all past tense, or so the others said.
Approached the fort as night fell. Decided to make camp until the sun rose. Lasted most of the night before we heard legs moving through the trees. We ambushed the creature—one of the biggest I’ve seen—and took it down easy enough. No venom, though. More’s the pity.
Started raining. Teslan called his god to bless me and Tristan. Tristan and I are no god botherers, but Teslan told us we don’t owe any god anything, that this one’s on him. Tried not to think about the promises of foreign gods as we snuck up on this keep.
Thing’d seen better days. Wood’s all rotted away. Webs carpeted the ground. Over the walls, we saw a few more of those big spiders. We took them out, too. Tristan and I tried to do something cute with a flaming arrow, but it didn’t matter too much. Might’ve bought us a second or two. Not sure we needed it.
Flight of stairs led downward. We rested before descending. It was a mess down there: all eggs and webs and giant mothers with too many legs. Big momma was a special something. Screamed at one point like nothing I’d ever heard. Felt it in my mind, not my ears. Didn’t help her, though.
When all was said and done, we made a pretty sweet haul. Loads of yellow gold that Eddrick found hidden away, more spider silk and eggs than we knew what to do with, a few weapons we gave to the locals. Folks might need them.
A few locals hailed Teslan when we got back to town. Bunch of undead were moving by the quarry. Sounded like they retook the keep over thataway. Hear that some lady vampire is in charge of them. Teslan and Fabian got all nervous about that; figure the stake’s the only way to deal with her. Tristan and I aren’t sure we agree.
I could make it here. Sun’s kinder than home’s.
