I suppose I’ll need to document my excursions in this land. I am used to having time to edit my manuscripts for my own benefit before submitting them, but I have several different flavors of adventurer clamoring for my “progress report” and so you get the first draft or you stop badgering me to write so quickly. I have magic to study, I’ll have you remember.
After acquiring helpful resources from the farmstead, three of us (myself, Tan, and Junil) set out to find problems that a fragile scholar such as myself can effectively handle, rather than the monstrous tasks I’ve heard tell of–although the “super werewolf” would make a fascinating study in the magics and lycanthropy of this strange realm, I’m sure.
Ah, well. I shall content myself with wild boar for now. There seem to be plenty of them about. When we were searching for a place to rest between long stretches of walking, several of them attempted to hunt us, and we disturbed the nearby inlet enough to awaken a few smaller water elementals. Tan and Wolbolg fought two boars, Junil and I got caught between a boar and an elemental on either side.
Not a brutal fight, but not an easy one either. At least, for me. I’m accustomed to keeping my distance from foes (I did my share of spell sparring in my younger years studying the cantrips). Those farm apples definitely helped prevent any lingering injuries for our party. Wolbolg, excited by the prospect of sleeping soon, was given permission by Tan to “go ham” in the fight, and swung his Weaving Knives all over to great effect at cutting both boar and blob.
Now, of course, I couldn’t seem to grasp the boar with my shocking hand. Thankfully the water elementals could not strike back right away. Junil, a whirl of weapons with her crutches and lightning empowered fist strikes, took advantage of the moment. Wolbolg finally removed the boar that I could not hit. These boars are not to be taken lightly, with their tusks’ goring swipes. I wonder how many spearheads have been fashioned from the tusks of hunted boars. Use every bone and sinew, or so I’ve heard. I certainly won’t be touching those bones, I prefer magical tusks to mundane.
The water elementals, slowly but surely, were defeated, thanks in no small part to Wolbolg’s critical knives, darting all around the fight without provoking attack.Tan retaliated against the boar that remained, putting a swift end to its constant tusk jabs. Tan goaded the last elemental, I shocked it and backed away, and the elemental bludgeoned Tan within a centimeter of passing out. But Junil was able to then finish it, rescuing me from needing to use any more of my abjuration energy to ward myself. My ward was nearly depleted, so I was grateful.
I sadly could not meaningfully detect a difference in sample of leftover elemental water and the water from the river. I had time for little more than a quick taste of each, though, before we moved to make camp. Out of range of the temple, we rested for the night, and were thankfully not disturbed.
I wish I were a better wilderness navigator, or had some magic to help with the task. Yes. We got lost. But thanks to my incredible luck, we ended up where we wanted to go anyways. In the hills, we found a group of horses, which had saddles and bags: 30g and 60g in coins, 100g in gems, and a simple map of the area nearby, with a mark indicating a sealed stone door, possibly a dungeon? Not wanting to rush in unprepared, our group then headed for the coast, wanting to get information to bring back to Sophia’s Rest. I don’t love caves, but I love magical secrets, and those are often in caves. I am considering returning here later.
…Shouldn’t have complained about the boars, because soon enough we ran into a couple Large Boars. And I do mean Large. Bolstered by wild magic? Or simply left to live and grow unchecked, due to the nature of the current ecosystem? Or, I don’t get out to the woods that often and just don’t know how big boars can just…Be. Oh, and there were a few hawks, birds of prey of some sort? More annoying than anything. I ramble. A fight ensued!
Wolbolg got to shine in that earlier combat, not so much this one. Thankfully, I managed to magically induce sleep onto one boar and one hawk, and not a moment too soon for my companions staggering under the tusk swipes. Junil finished off the sleeping boar, and moved to punch the sleeping bird, with an incredible crunch, as it was near death before sleeping anyways. Tan took another big hit from a boar, and is barely standing. Stella wiffs a frost ray. Now, Wolbolg saw his leader in danger and cried out “MR. PRESIDENT GET DOWN”, which I’m told is a goblin war cry of some kind, in these lands? Then Junil did just enough damage to kill the second boar, saving Tan’s life, and probably also the horse. Excellent coordination. Poor Wolbolg had struggled to find purchase with his knives after so bravely charging forth to save Tan. But, finally, with those trusty Weaving Knives, at least killed a bothersome bird. And the final hawk flies in to try to go for blood, and blood it gets, but Tan barely holds on to consciousness. The hawk is then finally killed.
After a short rest, which barely helped, we found a deep dark cave Entrance. I suspected it led to a further cave System below, but Junil said it aloud before I could declare my conclusion, so I simply agreed. Our task for this journey successful, and our health and resources reaching a stretching point, we opted to try to head back north.
And, so, naturally, there was an ogre in our way. I am not graceful, but despite that, my feet found no noise loud enough to wake it, so I followed Tan and Junil as we Tactically Escaped.
We were also able to confirm there are indeed goblins to the south. Tan is quite keen on goblin negotiations, or at least observation. We continued our struggle north. I grew tired then, I grow tired now. We found some ruins. Nothing serviceable about the structure at the moment, but ruins with 67 gold and a single healing potion are better company than a napping ogre. I was pocketing the healing potion, as my magic can only shield my weaker body from harm and not heal it. However, I was uninjured, and one of my travel companions was… Very Not. I held it out toward Tan, and he grabbed the potion before I could finish telling him I’d found it. Weakened as we were, we pushed on, struggling, and made it back to the farmstead.
Somehow, safely. I am both eager to get back out exploring the wilderness, and also eager to never leave my rooms and books behind ever again. But, that is how I feel after every field research excursion, and one of my bard friends, from my home world, had said I have “adventurer’s stage fright” which is a ridiculous sequence of words, but she was proud of coining it. And worst of all?
She might even be correct.
