While Mikmik was away from the campsite we continued our discussion of what we should do - return the statue, try to deceive the kobolds into turning on Tartuk, or tell them the truth. As we conversed, Simon became upset and admonished us for our actions with the mites. It was true we hadn't been able to speak with them, but we might have if only we had tried a bit harder.
I am shamed that I did not see this while we were within their lair. We left the two we wounded in the workshop lying on the floor without even seeing to their injuries, though I hold in my hands the power of the Dawnflower to heal the hurts of others.
In the end Simon told us he has realized perhaps he is not suited for this life and would prefer to return to Erastil's temple to rejoin Jhod. Maria at first became angered by this and accused him of being childish and weak. We all separated from one another to think about what had been said. Simon went to gather wood, and Chahana decided to follow him and speak with him further. Mikmik returned with a gopher he had caught and cooked it over our fire, then ate it alone and lay down to sleep.
I prayed and meditated on my failure to show mercy to the mites. The Dawnflower's tenets say that we should only deny mercy to those who refuse to turn aside from evil and from the Rough Beast's spawn. The mites are not Rovagug's children, and they were never offered the chance to amend their misdeeds.
19th Gozran
Last night we slept undisturbed, but Simon is still determined to join Jhod at the temple. I think we are all beter able to accept his choice now. We took the oportunity to ask Mikmik a few questions about Tartuk and how he had come to join the Soostscale tribe. Mikmik told us they are called the Sootscales because among his kind the tribe is always named for the strongest warrior. He was willing enough to describe how Tartuk had impressed the tribe with his powerful magic, but said that Tartuk had come from 'over the moon' and 'across the fields of blood.' He could not or would not elaborate on what those names mean. Perhaps that was what Tartuk claimed and he never explained himself.
By midday we have almost reached the mine where the Sootscales dwell. Mikmik is eager to get back to his home, but we've paused our journey to talk to him again, as Chahana wishes. When she asked Maria to show him that we have recovered the Sharptooth statue, he was extremely excited and blurted out something that we had to coax him to repeat. He says that many of the tribe dislike Tartuk. We have decided we will give the statue to Sootscale, not to Tartuk. Mikmik agrees to cooperate as long as he's allowed to be the first to jump for joy when the statue is revealed.
Three guards met us outside the mine this visit. When we told them we had come to see Sootscale two of them went to report, and a short time later we were told the chief would see us.
We found him in the main chamber of the mine surrounded by many of his tribe, including Tartuk. The last time we were there some of the kobolds were sleeping on pallets there, but not this occasion. Chahana told Sootscale that the mites were either dead or fled. Tartuk then demanded that we hand over Sharptooth. To this Chahana replied, "No, we will give it to your chief, Sootscale." Maria took out the statue again and said to Sootscale, "You are the leader, I'll give it to you." The room fell quiet and the atmosphere became tense.
Sootscale took the statue and held it for a moment as though trying to decide what to do. Then he hurled it to the floor where it smashed into three fragments, shouting, "The curse is lifted! The curse is broken! You brought this evil! Kill him!" He gestured at Tartuk.
The kobolds within the chamber seemed confused. Tartuk's attitude turned combative as he crouched. Some of the kobolds moved toward him as though to defend him. Tartuk muttered something and a blast of flames shot out of his hands, enveloping Sootscale, Chahana, and Maria.
I drew my sword and raised my shield, stepping toward Tartuk. "Cast out the evil from your heart or the Dawnflower will claim your life!" I shouted to him. He cowered from my words. Chahana took the remaining sapling fruit from her pouch and offered it to Sootscale, who had been badly burned by Tartuk's flames.
Then Zander moved in and stabbed Tartuk, driving his blade deep into the duplicitous kobold. Simon shouted a warning, "Look out! We don't know which side they're on!" Tartuk backed up to the wall behind him and cast another spell. Reislin recogized it and calle dout for us to beware that he was attempting to frighten us, but whatever it was seemed to have no effect. I stepped up to him again and told him, "Put your hands down. Turn your heart from evil." To this he answered, "You are not kobold! You have no power here!"
An arrow shot past Tartuk's shoulder where his raven perched and the bird was impaled against the wall. It croaked out a few words before it died. This caused consternation among the kobolds. At first I thought they were angry the bird had been slain, but later we learned that they had never heard it speak before - and its voice was that of the Sharptooth idol.
Maria and Zander both plied their blades against Tartuk, and Sootscale, who had eaten the fruit and been much healed, came forward with his bone club though he was still weakened and his swing did no injury to Tartuk. Then Mikmik rushed in with the knife he had taken from the mites and stabbed Tartuk, and the purple kobold slumpled to the floor in a pool of his own blood.
When Sootscale had fallen, Chahana commented to Sootscale that now would be the time to bring the tribe together. Sootscale spoke to his people, saying that the tribe thaned us for our help and for rescuing Mikmik. Because we had killed mites, he bequeathed the mites' treasure to us. Reislin took the sack he offered, which proved to hold many coins and a ring that met the description of Svetlana's lost jewel.
Sootscale named us friends of their tribe, but he had another favor to ask of us. His people had little knowledge of magic, but as we had demonstrated more knowledge of such things he asked that we make certain Tartuk's lair held no magical dangers that would harm the tribe. This we agreed to readily. While the kobolds prepared a feast, we entered Tartuk's chamber and examined what he had left behind. Reislin also searched Tartuk's body, finding that he had a wand and a scroll on his person. Curiously, in Tartuk's chamber we found his journal, which was written in the tongue spoken by the mites and which stated that he had grown up in a gnomish village!
During the feast we spoke with Sootscale a little, though kobolds are not wont to converse while they eat. We learned of other enemies they face in their territory, which they are happy enough to hunt now that the mites have abandoned the sycamore tree. Among the creatures they mentioned were trolls, tatzlworms, thylacines, owlbears, and something they referred to as 'flying balls of death' for which they could not give us an adequate description that we could identify.
We emptied out Tartuk's cauldron, which did not hold anything magical, and cleaned it thoroughly so we could take it with us. Maria can summon water and she used this to rinse out the cauldron. Before we parted from the kobolds we made a treaty with them that they would not attack travelers and we would agree to them claiming the sycamore tree if they wished. By that point Simon's words had made me change my mind on allowing them to claim the tree. We can't keep them from it in any event.
We had decided that when we left the kobolds we would continue exploring north of the river and then return with Simon to the temple. That night Maria dreamt that the lingering soul from Nettle's Crossing was pursuing her. She awoke in a foul mood and was tired and irritable all day.
20th Gozran
We have explored the area around the mine, and then returned to the sycamore tree to assure ourselves that the mites haven't returned. It seems that when we are farther from the river the spectre can't invade the dreams of Chahana or Maria. The Dawnflower has protected me from such manifestations.
22nd Gozran
We've found a possible gold mine. We came upon a cave entrance and decided to investigate it, and once inside the large chamber we noticed an unusual discoloration in the stone. It was Reislin who recognized it as a vein of gold ore. She used a spell to temporarily soften a small area of stone so that a limited quantity of gold could be extracted. Afterward we used some mud to disguise where the digging had taken place. Reislin has marked the location on her map, but we will tell no one of it. Later on when the area is more secure perhaps we can seek miners to come and work it.
We camped at Thornwood that night, finding that no one had been there since our last visit. Zander had finished crafting a potion bandolier from some of the hides he's acquired and presented it to Chahana. He decorated it with feathers taken from Tartuk's raven.
No one was afflicted by dreams of the spirit that night, but we spoke of it, wondering if it was a curse, if proximity to the water somehow increased its potency, and what we should do about it. Reislin cast a spell upon Maria to recover some of her lost vitality.
23rd Gozran
We have returned to the temple of Erastil and are taking a day of rest. Reislin is busy copying maps for Oleg, while Zander and Chahana have gone hunting and Zander is teaching her a few words of the sylvan tongue. I am enjoying the opportunity to rest beneath the rays of the sun.
24th Gozran
We've decided to spend another day at the temple. Simon is still determined to remain here. He has given the care of the sapling rod to us. Chahana and Maria have enjoyed untroubled sleep here.
25th Gozran
It will take us three days to reach Oleg's trading post. We spied some unusually colorful flowers that we suspect may be touched by the energies of the First World, but when Chahana plucked them to present them to Svetlana, they wilted very rapidly.
27th Gozran
We arrived at the trading post late today. The stack of logs has grown, and there is now a longhouse under construction outside the walls. Kessen told us that his men are eager to sleep somewhere other than tents.
Oleg was very happy to receive the ring, or at least he showed more feeling than his usual gruff demeanor. He didn't stay to hear about our adventures when we described them to Kessen. We have good credit with the trading post now to use to purchase things that will aid us, and the mite treasure gave us each a quantity of coin to spend. I decided to buy myself a better shield, a steel one that will withstand heavier blows than my wooden one.
There was no news from the Hooktongue Slough, nor from Sol Covenant's group or the Varnlings. Some hunters and merchants have passed this way recently and Kessen says they've heard of our exploits.
28th Gozran
Chahana dreamt of the spirit we have begun to call Nettles last night. She woke in pain, and Reislin healed her again. She is determined that we must return to Nettles Crossing and make the spirit stop preying upon our party. After we bought a few supplies with our credit we decided we should leave. Kessen and his men will have to finish their longhouse without any more of our aid.
29th Gozran
We have been traveling through stormy weather. The lightning strikes in the distance are beautiful, but when they are close it is frightful. Reislin has a spell that forms an invisible shelter over her person to protect her from the rain when she drives the wagon. The rest of us must huddle under the canopy.
Chahana has been afflicted with another terrible dream. We must find a way to persuade Nettles that he should let her be.
30th Gozran
The pained bleating of an animal caught our attention today. When we made our way around a hillock to see what had befallen it, we found an elk entangled in a mass of briars. But it quickly became apparent that the briars were not ordinary ones. They were part of a creature that seemed to be consuming the elk.
Chahana shot the elk in the eye to put it out of its misery. This appeared to attract the creature's attention. We could hear it cracking the elk's bones even as it crawled toward us. I could not see any evil aura around it. It made a sort of roar by rattling ts vines and brambles together. Chahana, Maria, and I fired arrows into it. It was difficult to determine if our arrows wounded it.
Zander drew his sword and went to meet it after Reislin cast a spell on his blade and the points of Chahana's arrows. The creature rushed at him. I fired another arrow but it went wide. I dropped my bow to draw my shield and scimitar and join him. Maria also approached it. The creature stretched out its vines to grasp hold of both Zander and Maria and began to squeeze them, its brambles cutting into their flesh. Another of Chahana's arrows flew into its strange body. It was beginning to show injuries, its plant-like flesh oozing whatever served it as blood.
Two tiny glowing missiles flew from the wand Reislin had taken from Tartuk, striking the creature. It ceased squeezing Maria and Zander and its vines relaxed as its life ebbed away. I turned to Zander and extended the Dawnflower's healing mercy to him. Afterward he recovered some of the elk's hide to use in his leatherworking. We still do not know what manner of creature it was that we slew.
Later we came back to Nettles Crossing, still beneath a rainy darkened sky. Chahana called out for the spirit to come out, but he did not appear until she rang the little bell attached to the signpost.
Both Maria and Chahana explained to him that we could not hope to slay the Stag Lord and bring his head to Nettles Crossing if he kept cursing them with weakness and disturbing their sleep. He demanded they swear to bring the Stag Lord's head, and they agreed. Zander, too, was ordered to swear, but the spirit did not speak to me or Reislin. Then Maria asked what grudge he had against the Stag Lord and he told us that the Stag Lord had slain him and his family. After speaking those words he sank bank into the river on which he stood and vanished.
We set up camp in the ruins of his house to rest.
1st Desnus
We have found a point at which we can cross the river. We may continue to the south, even though that land is not within the boundaries of our charter, in the hope that we can find where the Stag Lord's stronghold lies.
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