[Pathfinder] Kingmaker Redux, part 26: Destruction and Growth

 From the journal of Lythande Syldorei

Fireday, 12th Abadius

As we stood before the defiled doors, Reislin and I both realized this must once have been a dwarven temple. Maria set her pack down and extracted a potion vial from it, which she swallowed at once. Her skin took on the appearance and hardness of tree bark. She, Zander and Arravis pushed the door together and it swung open. 

The chamber that lay beyond was the fane of the temple, lined with pillars and with a raised dais at the far end. It had been desecrated like the rest of the fort. Within the fane stood a number of lizardfolk with purple and green scales, clearly not of the tribe we met on the lake. All were armed and painted for war. With them they had two large blood caimans that served them as the troll hounds served the trolls. The lizardfolk all turned threatening looks at us. 

Chahana had climbed upon a table at Arravis's suggestion, and now that the door was open she immediately fired an arrow at the lizardfolk who stood directly in line with the doorway. I heard one of the lizardfolk speak, but I didn't understand its words. I had hoped that we might remain in the other room and let our enemies come to us so we could block them at the doorway, but Maria rushed into the fane and attacked one of the lizardfolk. With that I moved into the worship hall myself and thrust my spear at another lizardfolk when two of them moved closer to the entrance. One of the caimans lunged out of a corner at me, while the second turned on Zander when he entered. 

A rapid skirmish ensued in which one of the caimans died, as did several of the lizardfolk. Then a smaller door on the western wall of the chamber swung open and an extremely large and well-armored troll entered. The door from which he emerged was close to where I stood and I saw that his face bore an expression of great cunning. He spoke, first in the lizardfolk tongue and then in words I could understand despite his harsh accent. "Stand down!" he commanded. Chahana jumped down from the tabletop and moved into the doorway, calling for us to hold so that she might speak with the troll. He looked at her and his expression changed, though I couldn't read it.

But the lizardfolk didn't listen to his order. The one that seemed to be their chieftain spoke again, and they continued their attacks against us. Maria also didn't cease swinging her sword, declaring that these were our enemies. The troll let out an infuriated roar and much to my surprise used both hands to swing his huge morningstar at the nearest caiman, crushing it! In our common tongue he growled something about "building something majestic that would last through the ages," and how it would not include humans. As he turned his attention toward Arravis and I, I forebore to comment that I am not a human. 

Then I felt my limbs tingle as Reislin read from a scroll and I was filled with magical alacrity. Chahana backed into the other room again. The troll swung his morningstar again. I called on the Dawnflower to lend me her aid and used her divine light to heal the wound I had suffered. Then I thrust my spear at the troll repeatedly, but my spearpoint failed to find a weak place in his armor. Fortunately the lizardfolk decided that they had no desire to fight alongside the troll and they drew back, leaving me with only the troll to face. Arravis remained beside me, and a moment later Maria joined us. Three of Chahana's arrows struck the troll. 

I drew on all that my Guiding Light has blessed me with, letting myself perceive the aura of evil that surrounded the troll and girding myself with her righteous fury. This time my spear found his flesh through the armor, once sinking in deeply. Arravis and Maria also sank their blades into him. Some of Reislin's tiny but potent missiles flew in from the other room and found him as well. Chahana then ran back into the doorway and flung a flask of acid at him. Much to our surprise and disappointment it seemed to have no effect on him.

Despite this unwelcome occurrence, we continued to focus our blows on the troll. He struck at me several times with his morningstar and even attempted to claw and bite me, but praise the Dawnflower I was able to block each attack with my shield. My last strike took him to his knees, and then he slumped over, blood pooling beneath him, and wheezed out a last few words: "She lied. It was supposed to be mine..." After this he ceased moving.

Arravis sliced the troll's throat, then asked us what we should do to make sure he wouldn't regerate since neither acid nor fire appeared to harm him. Reislin discovered that he carried something magical on his person, which we suspected might be like the runes the other troll we met in the wilderness had inscribed on his skin. We hurriedly stripped him of all of his armor and anything else he wore. Then Chahana suggested that we pour many flasks of acid on him, as the other troll hadn't been invulnerable to fire, only less vulnerable. She handed each of our party a flask and we all emptied onto the troll's body at one time. This strategy seemed to do the trick, as we watched him for a little time and his wounds no longer seemed to be repairing themselves. We discussed whether we ought to remove his head and take it back to Lorewynd, but Arravis recommended that we put it on a spike outside so other trolls would know that he was dead, and we all felt this was a wise suggestion. By this time we had concluded that this troll must be Hargulka, the troll leader we'd heard of. Arravis suggested doing the same with the head of the lizardfolk chieftain. Zander took on this task after he finished skinning the two caimans.

Meanwhile Reislin investigated all of the troll's gear for any magical properties. In addition to his morningstar, which was too large for any of us to wield, he had worn a circlet on his head that increased his cleverness. This was so large that any of us could have put it over our own heads and it would drop to the floor at our feet, but Reilin thought it might be possible to send it to an artisan and have it reshaped to fit a smaller head. He had also worn an amulet around his neck that seemed to be made from some type of nut or seed. But the most concerning discovery was the runes branded in his skin that made him proof against flames and acid. The runes themselves couldn't be destroyed to Reislin's knowledge. If we hadn't poured all the acid on him he might have recovered, even with his head severed or the runes cut from his hide.

After we had dealt with Hargulka and his belongings we entered the room he had come from, finding that it was cleaner and less damaged than the rest of the fort. There he had stored anything taken from those the trolls had attacked, as well as maps and plans for future attacks. In a chest beneath his huge bed we found an assortment of coins, gems, jewelry, wine, a wand, and a dragon carved of exotic wood. There was also a sheath that matched the sheath of the sword Arravis had gifted to Maria. 

There was also a strange plant in the room, a flower that glowed red and seemed to give off faint smoke. Even Reislin didn't know what it was, though she suspected it came from the First World. She and Chahana wished to bring it along, and it was decided that it would be worthwhile to visit Tiressia and Falchos before returning to Lorewynd to ask them if they knew what it was. Reislin had already remarked that the headband Hargulka had worn looked like it might be of fey craftsmanship and she wanted to question our fey friends about that as well. 

There were no other rooms to explore after Hargulka's chamber. On our way out of the fortress we gathered up the items the lizardfolk had brought to him as tribute, which included more gems and coins, another wand, more than a dozen enchanted arrows, and a magical shield made of a giant tortoise shell. There were also some rare herbs and oils that Reislin may be able to use to help Maraleaf, the shaman of Zander's clan. Maria asked me if I would like to take the tortoise shield, but I prefer to be able to move quickly and use my shield hand to hold other objects and I declined

On the following day we reached the dryad's grove and were met by Falchos, who always seems glad to see us. Tiressia was resting within her tree. We began by trying to ask Falchos about the red flower, but as is the way with the fey folk he steered our conversation into heroic tales of our battle with the trolls before coming back to the topic we were most interested in, and we were obliged to drink with him to avoid being ungrateful guests. In the end he told us that he did agree the plant was from the fey realm but he knew nothing about it. When asked he willingly asked Tiressia to come out to see us. Tiressia could not tell us much about the plant either as she had never seen one before, but she knew it was a lythlorian flower, and she hinted that some more powerful fey might be responsible for it in some nebulous way that only the fey understand.

Moonday, 16th Abadius

When we arrived in Lorewynd again we found to our dismay that an exceptionally large and angry owlbear had attacked the town in our absence and done considerable damage. Fortunately our militia had managed to deal with it, for which we are very grateful, but Zander was saddened that they'd been forced to slay it and its hide showed signs of disease so it was unsuitable for him to take. We were also reminded of the rumored green dragon we'd heard of before, as well as a creature known as the Shamblesnap that was troubling the area. 

Oathday, 18th Abadius

An envoy arrived from Pitax today, bearing an invitation from King Castruccio Irovetti to attend a new event known as Rushlight. It is a tourney held on the first Fireday of Saraneth, featuring feats of arms and displays of artisanship. It seems unlikely that the King will attend himself, as he has some other project in which his involved, but perhaps it will still be worthwhile to attend even if we are unable to meet with the King again. My friends looked to me and I told the emissary that if our responsibilities in the kingdom allowed we would be glad to attend. We gave the envoy the hospitality of Lorewynd for a night before he took our reply back to Pitax.

Later

Much has happened since we received the visitor from Pitax. I have been so busy with my duties that I have had little time to write here. Our lands have grown. We have more militia. There are more farms. A road has been constructed between Tatzlford and Lorewynd, and between the north-south road and the western edge of the lands we currently lay claim to. There is now a pier in the Tuskwater on the western side of the town to facilitate trade downstream with Mivon. A temple to Pharasma stands by the burial ground. It is impressive to me how quickly things happen in these lands where humans hold sway. In my homeland deciding to construct any new structure requires years of discussion, and the structure itself will take years to complete. Of course, the buildings here are not as elegant as those in Iadara, but there is charm to their roughness. It is refreshing to watch this all unfolding with such speed, like watching a flower bloom overnight. 

                                             Lorewynd

Next: part 27, Trouble From the East

[Pathfinder] Kingmaker Redux, part 25: Against the Trolls

 

From the journal of Lythande Syldorei

Wealday, 10th Abadius

As we planned for taking the offensive against the trolls,  we had several questions to answer. Should we take Zander's wagon or ride horses? Should we take any of the Lorewynd militia with us? In the end we decided that a group of horses might be more a liability than a benefit as there was no one to look after them for us once we left them to face the trolls. We also concluded that taking our remaining militia with us would leave Lorewynd unprotected in the event of an enemy attack. So it was that the five of us and Arravis DeVray were the only folk to make our way into the Narlmarches to seek out the trolls' stronghold.

Starday, 13th Abadius

We did not pause when we passed the Old Beldame's cottage and the area where the lizardfolk village is located. Though going by wagon took a day longer than the journey on horseback would have required, we reached the hill in a clearing where the ancient dwarven fort stood quickly enough. Only two stone walls and a very sturdy door stood on the hilltop. There were several tracks that had been left by the trolls but Zander and Chahana felt they weren't recent. Zander and Chahana skirted around the hill to make sure there was no evidence of the trolls coming or going lately and found nothing. The door in the hill stood ajar, and the layer of dirt and leaves at its base indicated it hadn't been shut in some while. Reislin was concerned that once we got inside the trolls would shut the very heavy and sturdy door behind us and trap us within, but in the end we decided this was not enough of a risk for us to try spiking the door open.

Zander went in first as there was no light and he is more skilled at moving quietly. Reislin had cast her messaging spell upon us all so he could tell us what he saw. He found a narrow passage inside, and a set of open doors leading into a chamber occupied by a lone troll who failed to detect his presence. We had all moved into the passage when he warned us of the troll, but because Arravis and Maria both had lights we hung back so the troll wouldn't notice. Zander whispered to us to ask what we wanted to do. Reislin asked if he could slay the troll stealthily, which Zander did not like as his Aldori duelling masters would consider attacking an enemy from behind to be dishonorable. I confess I am not over fond of that option myself. 

This concern became unimportant when a second troll appeared from a side room just as I moved forward to keep an eye on Zander. The first troll got to its feet. I readied my spear and moved in to join Zander. Maria and Arravis joined us while Reislin and Chahana hung back in the passage to use their spells and arrows. Reislin cast a spell upon me and the others in the room to make are weapons keener. The second troll said something in its native tongue that none of us understood and let out a harsh, humorless laugh. Then we heard growling and we knew the trolls must have hounds with them. A moment later a troll hound rushed into the room. We all fought mightily, suffering wounds but not without dealing injuries to the troll as well. Then a second troll hound joined them, rushing me as soon as it entered. At Reislin's direction a burst of flame blossomed behind the second troll and hound. Chahana approached the doorway to lob flasks of acid when the trolls and their hounds fell to their wounds, thus preventing their regenerative ability from getting them back on their feet. Everyone was splashed with acid, but that small pain was worth the advantage it gave us. 

Just before both trolls and hounds fell and would not rise again, Zander realized that there was another creature in a chamber to the south, a rock troll. As we had no way to lure it out into the sunlight to turn it to stone, we had to fight it as well. It was not a weak foe, but because all of us were able to focus on it as one we soon slew it.  Reislin had given us all increased alacrity, which allowed us to strike it more times than we might ordinarily have been capable.

After we had dealt with the rock troll and I had called upon the Dawnflower's healing power to share with my comrades, we examined the room the rock troll had been sitting in, which proved to have once been a kitchen. It contained nothing of value. To the west of the kitchen was a small storehouse also empty of valuables. Another set of defaced doors led out of the larger chamber to the west, into what might have been a mess hall. There we surprised another troll, this time one cursed with two heads! 

Zander leaped upon a table to attack the troll and for his effort was fiercely clawed as well as bitten by both heads. Reislin encouraged him to withdraw from the fight and join her in the doorway so she could use her wand to attend to his injuries. She had also increased our speed again and I stood my ground beside the troll, striking at it with my spear as often as I could though the blade often slipped off its rough hide. Another troll hound came at the two-headed troll's call and sank its fangs into several of my friends. Chahana splashed it with acid after it was brought down by our blades and her arrows. The troll was brought low after I thrust my spear into it again, but not before Maria had been knocked down and fallen unconscious due to the wounds it had dealt her. Reislin climbed on a table and used the wand to heal her, just before it fell and was dowsed with acid to prevent it rising again.

Off this chamber we found another storeroom. To the south stood another set of heavy doors that were not securely closed. The doors were adorned with emblems of the dwarven gods, now vandalized presumably by the trolls. Maria searched the body of the fallen two-headed troll and discovered that it had in its possession an enhanced buckler of very small size, evidently made for small folk such as halfings or gnomes, or perhaps goblins or kobolds. It was too small for any of us and in any case had lost its handgrip. Curiously it was marked with the holy symbol of Abaddar. 

Next: part 25: Destruction and Growth

[Pathfinder] Kingmaker Redux, part 24: Treaties and Trolls

From the journal of Lythande Syldorei

Wealday, 3rd Abadius 4712

I didn't expect to be spending the beginning of a new year floating across the river on logs lashed together into a simple raft. It didn't keep us entirely dry, but we were less wet than we would have been had we attempted to swim across. 

As we hauled our raft onto the shore and set up a small campfire to dry ourselves, we suddenly realized that a group of four people were standing at the top of a hill looking down on us. They soon came down and revealed themselves to be Zander, accompanied by his brother Benn and two other members of his family, Harad and Selkara. Harad and Selkara seemed amused by our raft and our desire to get dry before continuing our search for the black rattlecap mushrooms. Selkara remarked that if we were tougher we wouldn't need metal armor to protect ourselves, which struck me as odd because she too wears armor. Zander's three relatives told us a tale of a winter sport their tribe enjoys, which entails cutting down several trees and putting them in a lake and using them to race one another. It seems this contest isn't considered worthwhile unless the participants' limbs have gone numb with cold.

Selkara asked why we wanted to cross the river, and Reislin gave them an explanation of our desire to find the mushrooms for the Old Beldame. Selkara appeared to be familiar with this type of mushroom and warned that they are dangerous. When the trolls and a possible dragon were mentioned the Tiger Lords became quite interested. Curiously they seemed more excited by the trolls than the dragon. Though it wasn't yet dusk, we decided to make camp where we were. Chahana went hunting with Benn, Harad, and Selkara to get game for our evening meal.

Oathday, 4th Abadius

This morning after we broke camp we set out in search of the 'mud bowl' where we had been told we would find the mushrooms. Finding the spot wasn't difficult. It was quite obvious when we happened upon it: a depression in the ground filled with black mud, surrounded by small mossy hillocks. The mud and the hillocks made the area a bit difficult to navigate. Maria immediately demanded to know why this place existed, and Reislin gave her an explanation of how different types of creatures live in different places. I'm doubtful that Maria was convinced. I think she would have liked to fill the depression in with soil and flatten the hillocks so that someone could build a house there. 

On top of the mud it was quite easy to see the mushrooms we had come for. But Maria noticed something making a noise from the mud, which we at first thought might be some of the giant toads we'd found in the swamp, but Maria denied this. In response, Harad took out a javelin from his quiver and hurled it into the mud at the source of the noise. At once a large creature emerged from beneath the mud, long vine-like tendrils stretching out from its body. A moment later a second such creature arose from the southern side of the mud bowl. Reislin and Chahana quickly shouted out to us what they recalled of such creatures, which are known as tendriculos in the common tongue. Reislin remembered that they are a kind of mobile plant and acid can't harm them. Chahana's memories were encouraged by Reislin's words and she recalled that they are able to grab prey and pull it toward them with their tendrils, after which they can swallow even something as large as a pony and it will be paralyzed by the acid within the creature's gullet. 

Harad shouted out that the Tiger Lords would take on the tendriculos to the north, leaving the southern creature to us. Benn added that whichever group slew its creature last would be responsible for cooking dinner. Zander took flight over the mud and Harad drew out a weapon that appeared to be the jawbone of some great beast. Selkara demonstrated that she was able to use magic. Chahana fired several arrows into the southern creature, and we observed with dismay that it appeared to be capable or healing almost instantly from wounds like a troll.

Maria cast a spell on her sword and moved up to the second tendriculos to slash it. It let out an piercing screech, spraying a fine dust over everyone nearby as it rushed toward us. I took my new spear in both hands and dodged its flailing tendrils as I thrust the point into its body. I glimpsed Harad suddenly growing much larger as Selkara chanted some incantation over him. Selkara herself then summoned a flame to her hand and flung it at the first creature. It seemed unable to heal from the burns. Upon observing this, Chahana took a flask of alchemical fire from her bandolier and threw it into the second creature, achieving a similar effect. The first creature caught hold of the enlarged Harad and pulled him close, attempting to bite him. Maria maneuvered to the second creature's opposite side and thrust her sword into it, and it slumped over and ceased thrashing its tendrils. Chahana and Reislin both shouted out to the Tiger Lords that they hoped our new friends are good cooks. Reislin then cast her spell of alacrity on their group, and after Harad pulled himself free of its grasp and struck it with his huge jawbone weapon, it too collapsed. We doubted that they were truly dead. Selkara applied her flames and Chahana poured more alchemical fire on the second one and we were soon assured that they wouldn't rise again.

Harad and Benn gathered up the mushrooms, while Maria evaluated the powder the second tendriculos had breathed on us. It was some type of fungal spore, but only Chahana had begun to suffer any adverse effect from it and rinsing it off soon cured her. Reislin found some useful herbs growing around the mud pool and gathered those as well. Then the Tiger Lords had to go off hunting for something to serve us for our dinner.

Zander informed us afterward that the priest of Pharasma we were awaiting hadn't yet arrived when he left Lorewynd, but as we are expecting her soon we have decided to return to town after we deliver the mushrooms to the Old Beldame.

Fireday, 5th Abadius 

We crossed the Tuskwater again on our raft, with Zander and his family swimming alongside us since our raft was too small to carry all of us. I suspect they would have chosen to swim even had it been larger. After leaving the raft behind we made our way to the Beldame's hut. She has new scarecrows in her garden but they look less sturdy than the scarecrow that came to life and attacked us when we came there last year. We decided that we shouldn't enter her garden uninvited. Reislin cast a spell on me, and then only Chahana and I approached the gate and Chahana rang the bell while the others waited a little farther away. Chahana had even left her weapons with Maria. Reislin had cast her usual spell on us that allows us to whisper to one another when we are too far to be heard. We waited a short time until the door opened and the old woman looked out at us. I wasn't surprised that her expression was not a welcoming one. Chahana explained to her that we had come to make amends with her and deliver the mushrooms to her. She asked if we still intended to claim the territory around her cottage, to which Chahana replied that we would claim the surrounding area, but not the land on which her cottage stood. She then invited us to approach and went inside, shutting the door.

Chahana and I walked up to the door and heard sounds of pots clinking together and movement from within. Chahana rapped her knuckles against the door. The Beldame opened it and gestured for us to enter. Inside the hut appeared cozy if cluttered, with bunches of herbs hanging from the rafters and a fire burning in the hearth. The Beldame indicated that Chahana should set the mushrooms down. She took the bag and drew them out, examining them and taking several that suited her when she went to fetch water from the pot sitting by the fire. While she brewed herself a cup of tea, Chahana told her about the two tendriculos that had been in the mud bowl. The conversation then ranged away from that topic to the various herbs and their medicinal uses. She seems to be as knowledgeable as Bokken, but less eccentric. Chahana then mentioned the herbs that Reislin had gathered and offered to show them to her. She used Reislin's spell to ask Reislin to bring them, but Reislin declined and sent Maria in her stead. To avoid causing the Beldame consternation Maria left her own weapons and shield behind as Chahana had done. After the Beldame saw the herbs she agreed to trade us for them. She gave us a considerable reward of gold for the mushrooms, and in exchange for the herbs we received two curative oils and a potion that will give the imbiber skin like tough bark for a short time. 

After we left the Tiger Lords seemed to think that we had feared her, but I explained to them that we'd had a disagreement with her and desired to make amends. Selkara wanted to talk with her as she felt that the Beldame was a wise woman worth learning from. 

Sunday, 7th Abadius

On our return to Lorewynd we found that we have guests. The priestess of Pharasma has arrived, as well as a group of emissaries from Mivon, the kingdom that lies to the south of Neotellus. The trolls have been troubling them as well and they seek an alliance with us. 

We were first introduced to this when we arrived in the castle and found one of the chambers occupied by two people who had both suffered the loss of limbs recently, and the priest was examining a woman who appeared to have taken a blow to the head and was suffering some loss of vision. A well-dressed man stood by watching as the priest examined the woman, with an expression of anxiety on his face. Amus the shrinekeeper stood in the corner looking slight uncomfortable, perhaps because all of these people except the priest appeared to be nobles. I offered to provide what healing power the Dawnflower grants me, but Amis and the new priest had done what could be done with the aid of the gods. 

                                                    Amus

Chahana greeted them and introduced herself to the visitors, and the man told us his name is Arravis De Vray. Reislin recognized that he is descended from one of the families who left Brevoy to form Mivon when the territories that became Brevoy were unified some time ago. The human lands are always in a state of change. The injured woman is Arravis' cousin Morissa. They had traveled from Mivon with another cousin, who was meant to be the ambassador, but she had been slain when they were attacked by trolls on the way north. The mayor of Mivon had also sent us a message to notify us of their intent to send envoys, but it seems that too was waylaid by trolls as we received no such letter. Arravis also explained that their party had been much larger, with many porters and servants, all of whom had either been slain or had fled when the trolls attacked. The other two people who had managed to reach Lorewynd were Master Livianne Seline, sister of the mayor, and her bodyguard Loshio Magnar. Master Seline had lost an arm to the trolls, and Loshio had lost his leg. 

                                                Arravis de Vray

The priest of Pharasma who was attending to them introduced herself as SiAnne of New Stetven. She is the tallest human woman I have ever seen, arrayed all in robes of her order. Amis told us she arrived three days ago, but Arravis and his party had only just reached the town. We arranged for the chamber they were in to be used as a sickroom while Amis and SiAnne continue to care for the injured, and Arravis and Morissa have been given other rooms. SiAnne advises that Morissa should rest for a few days and she will recover. Chahana also arranged for a dinner to be served to those of the new arrivals who are capable of dining together. After we parted from them, I went out with Amis and let him know how much we appreciate all he has done for Lorewynd. He seems pleased that SiAnne has arrived. Reislin and I then took the hodag's head that we had brought back with us and presented it to Stass. He was delighted with it and welcomed my keeping the spear we found in its den.

                                             SiAnne

At the dinner we learned more of the troll attack that so grievously harmed the party from Mivon. Mivon seeks alliance with Neotellus, but we must tread carefully due to the support Brevoy has provided us. We were also introduced to SiAnne's family. Her husband's surname is Surtova, the same as Chahana's, though they are but distantly related. SiAnne has abandoned her surname to show that while she is devoted to her husband and children, her family is her temple. Her young daughter, Manda, fancies herself to be politically astute and often spoke up to demonstrate her education. I found it entertaining to think that a human child of so few years would speak so, but perhaps when she has grown she will indeed have acquired deep knowledge. Before we parted from Arravis, he requested an audience with us on the morrow.

Moonday, 8th Abadius

This morning we met before our audience with Arravis to discuss what we should do. We have no desire to antagonize Mivon, nor to anger Brevoy. What we desire is to maintain friendly relations with both and to increase trade and travel from both nations. But there are those in Mivon who lay claim to these lands we have claimed for Neotellus. The trolls also claim them, and we have heard rumors that there are powerful fey who claim them as well. Zander is unwilling to form an alliance with either Brevoy or Mivon. It is difficult to choose which course of action is wisest when either course may lead to conflict.

Arravis arrived for his audience with us in a surprisingly cheerful mood. When he spoke to he us he told us he would like if it is possible to recover the bodies of those who were slain. He had brought with him several chests of goods that had been sent with their embassy as gifts of friendship. Though some of what they had carried was lost to the trolls, he offered an enchanted longsword as one of these gifts, as well as a golden circlet, a magical cloak, and an enchanted ring. When we had expressed our gratitude to him, Maria asked how many trolls had set upon their party. Arravis replied that at first they had seen only three trolls, but the number had increased to more than a dozen. Reislin asked him precisely when we should seek to rid ourselves of the trolls. Arravis asked that we wait until his cousin has recovered enough to join us. He suspects the trolls may have taken over an old ruined structure of dwarven make in the Narlmarches. Reislin brought out some of the maps she has acquired and we reviewed them to make ourselves familiar with that area.

After we parted from Arravis, we discussed what we should do with the magical items he had given us. My friends pressed me to take the circlet as it grants the wearer greater charm for speaking to others. Zander took the ring, and in exchange gave me a similar but less powerful ring he previously wore. It surrounds the wearer in a protective field of magical energy. 

With that business taken care of, Chahana went on to a sparring session with Arravis to learn what skill of swordplay he has. I cannot deny that I am proud she defeated him, though regrettably she forgot that their sparring was meant to do no injury and she wounded Arravis with an arrow. Praise the Dawnflower that we now have SiAnne as well as Amus to supplement the healing power that Maria, Zander, and I can call upon. 

As we prepare to face the trolls, I must make sure to carry some flasks of acid with me to deal with their strange ability to withstand flames.