A hike, a bath, and a surprise

Mom,

  I hope you can forgive the less than formal greeting, I’ve got to be quick to get this to you. My companions and I are in a bit of a tight spot. Let me explain how we got to here. A couple days ago we were at the dwarven city of Kor Vokos.  After a little site seeing, we were invited to some sort of day’s end event the dwarves celebrate in their central square. There was a good deal of drinking, dancing, and general celebration. Dwarven drink is served chilled, and their music is highly rhythmic with minimal melody. Ouroboros engaged in some sort of group dance that was heavily made up with stomping, clapping, chest and thigh slapping and rhythmic grunting. It was both interesting and primitive. There was a fire circle where an elder was telling tales to the dwarven youth. Lady Alexandra say listening for quite some time, seeming to take in the tales raptly.

   Lady Thalia was talking with the kobold trio, they seemed to spend some time in conversation with them ending in one of their own with a puffed-out chest and a squinted eye. I think I overheard something about “sorcerer” or “sorcery”, but I was becoming more distracted. Across the square there was a dwarven woman who was watching myself and the other companions. She seemed to ‘hover’ at the edge of conversations, engaging lightly, but mostly keeping track of us.  When I started being able to pay attention again Thalia was asking the kobolds about their lady. According to the talkative one, Gecky I think, they came from someplace west of here, someplace warm. The lady is described as super beautiful with a complicated name that was difficult to pronounce correctly. Nicolos was talking with the various smiths and apprentices, he was fake drinking and poorly, but no one seemed to care much.

  Silenos has engaged in a very silly competition. He’s currently trying to drink a stocky dwarven child under the table. That sort of thing never made any sense to me, but as you know we tend to have control issues (and some impulse control issues). After a few rounds of drinking, Silenos slowly slid off his hooves grasping tightly to the table leg as if he were at sea in a tempest. The dwarven child invited him to come back and try again. Ouroboros moved on from dancing to drinking. He made worse choices than Silenos, as his drink of choice was some sort of hard spirit the dwarves brew and his opponent was some craggy dwarf built like a stone block.  The size difference at least kept it interesting, but eventually Ourobors too ended up holding onto the floor for dear life. I rounded up a wheelbarrow to get the pair of them home. After getting them back, cleaned up, and tucked in.

  It took an hour or so to get those two sods into some blankets and mostly free of vomit. Lady Alex and Thalia had retired to their room, as I was headed to mine, Alexandra gestured Nicolos and I to join them. Seemed that Lady Alexandra thought it was a good idea to try and contact the Oracle again, while we have some comfort and protection. Lady Thalia isn’t very sanguine about the effort, but Alexandra is adamant. Pushing forward Alexandra enters whatever trance that incense helps create, in a few moments a sleeping Oracle inhabits Alexandra’s body. Presumably Alexandra is in her form. We three wake the oracle and question start. The only question the oracle answers directly is her name Phoebe. She would periodically spout some bit of prophecy causing some degrees of concern for the Nicolos and Thalia. I find myself starting to get dizzy as Thalia shakes the sleeping oracle. I was able to lend a small scrap of cloth to Thalia for her nose after the waking Alexandra headbutts her face.  Not long there after I was asleep in the most profound way.

  Entirely too early the dwarven prince arrived and introduces us to Thisbe.  She is an expert on the various subterrane paths though the mountains in the region. After a brief introduction and some quick gathering of gear, we headed out. In addition to knowledge of the regions earthly passages, Thisbe seems to know a good deal about alchemy identifying a large patch of highly volatile mold growing on a section of rock wall. We spend the better part of the day making our way via tunnel and then overland south from Volkas back toward the coastal region along the spine of the mountains. We have three objectives: returning the trio of kobolds to their Lady which we suspect is a dragon, finding the remaining giant for Silenos’s labor, and obtaining the sky steel for Nicolos. We were far down the coast when Silenos felt the presence of a dragon, we decide to return the kobolds first as its likely the furthest travel. We’ll keep an eye open for giants of course, but not actively hunting them. I suggest saving the metal gathering until last as we don’t want to lug rocks around more the is needful.

  It is interesting watching Silenos and Thisbe, they work well together sharing knowledge of terrain, taking turns leading the way as their expertise dictates. Both seem somewhat impressed with the other and their banter indicates some mutual interest. Ouroboros spends some time talking with the trio of kobolds about the lady, what their relationship is like, how they came to meet and so forth. They were far up the line, so I didn’t catch much of it.  Lady Alexandra inquired if I had any pearls in my cache. I do have a mirror to the one I sent you, which I said she could have. It apparently is for some arcane casting, so I need to find something a bit less valuable next time we’re down near the shore. We push a little bit longer in the evening to reach a small grotto tucked into a niche high up on one of the mountains. I’m glad we did as it proved to be a great boon.

  Inside the grotto was pool that had periodic steam plumes that created a heavy fog about the place. The water in the pool was deep enough for bathing and well heated by some process Thisbe tried to explain, but I didn’t follow; something to do with forges typical dwarven talk it seems. I much didn’t care as it was hot water and a chance for a good bath. Lady Thalia also took the pool as a good omen, not hesitating a moment to slip into the hot water with some actual soap. She encouraged Ouroboros to join as she started to help clean up Lady Alexandra. I was lounging with some help from my arcane paw to help rub those hard-to-reach places along the back and shoulders. Eventually the kobolds, Silenos and Ouroboros joined us in the water. Thisbe seemed somewhat reluctant despite much encouragement; she ends up going to look around. For a laugh, I arranged for my arcane paw to steal the small cloths of Ouroboros and tuck them up on shore with Lady Thalia’s things. Eventually Thisbe returns and as she’s turns to Silenos, that pesky paw just splashed her with water. That was enough to draw her into the pool, as she felt challenged.  It was all fine and good until Ouroboros decided to float a bit on his back, he didn’t realize his small clothes were missing, the ship was at full mast. That got everyone out of the pool. Silenos and Thisbe end up talking about alchemy, herbalism, medicine, and related topics. Silenos shares some of his smoking leaf as they talk late into the night.

  The following morning, I awake to find Silenos is out of the grotto, apparently doing a little hunting based on the goat he brings back. Lady Alexandra is out in the sunlight saying some prayers, Thalia is tucking her and Alexandra’s gear away for travel. After a significant breakfast and some preservation activities for the leftover goat, we head out.  The kobolds seem excited about getting close to where the Lady is. Again, between Silenos and Thisbe the route is easy and by midafternoon we emerge out on a high mountain peak that is shrouded in clouds, biting cold, and gale winds.  As we ease forward toward the actual peak, Silenos takes a moment to drawn on his perceptions. He can indeed sense the closeness of a dragon, which when spoken excites the kobolds significantly. He confesses he also sensed some sort of fiendish presence as well, much as he did when we were down at coastal village. A little less than an hour later, we see some ruins come into sight. Restraining the kobolds excitement becomes impossible as they sprint forward gabbling about the Lady. The ruins seem to be some sort of temple complex, a large retaining wall breached in places, several outbuildings partly crushed and fallen, and the temple or monastery which seems mostly intact.

  As we approach and move through one of the breaches in the outer wall, we spy a tall pale woman. She’s dressed in a flowing white gown with long fingers. Really not weather appropriate. Initially all three kobolds dash forward and babble excitedly. The woman directs them to the temple, while she’s much more wary of us. Two of the three rush to the temple, the third, Gecky, starts, but stops and pauses near the lady with his head cocked. Many of the companions are engaged in dialog with the lady who seems not as friendly as one might imagine. Hedging our bet, I smile nod and move toward the temple as the Lady suggested. I specifically move in such a way as she mush focus her attention on me or the companions. That seems to decide something in her mind. In a supernaturally quick grasp, she grasps Gecky by the neck as her flesh and clothing split like a rotten melon.  Growning up out of that body is a massive figure, thirty feet in height, who announces himself as the titan Persus, lord of destruction. With a wave of his hand a 100-foot wall of fire leaps up behind the companions cutting off any easy method of escape.

  Several companions are near the transformed titan, the look of horror and fear is evident on their faces. I can’t say as I blame them. Despite her fear Lady Alexandra summons her arcane fist and strikes Persus a significant blow and slides to the flank while he’s distracted. Silenos dashes around Persus and takes a couple of shots from his rear connecting, but with minimal effect. Nicolos grasps his forge hammer and summons his cloud of cyclopean spirits moving forward so they can strike at Persus. They seem to connect but it’s a minimal effect. I dash in, strike, and get out; I’m not sure the blow had more effect than anything else tried so far. I’m looking at Persus and suddenly he’s not there, he seems to stretch and with an audible pop he’s thirty feet away amongst the other companions.  Into one of his massive hands, he seems to summon a great black flanged mace, in a less frightening moment I might ask where he was holding that, implying that might be why he’s in a bad mood.  A moment later I wasn’t thinking about anything much as a wave of crackling electricity moves in a wave around Persus. As I recover from that I see him drop the charred and smoking body of Gecky to the cold stone and I hear him issue a barking howl mixed with caustic laughter. Appearing from the darkened corners of the ruins massive forms appear. They are multi armed monsters, nearly twice my height with long muzzles filled with sharp teeth and skin the color of night.  Ouroboros snarls his defiance and lets loose with a flurry of punches, to which Persus responds with a mild chuckle and taunts the son of Zeus. Before our eyes, we can see the wounds, as such, close and heal before our very eyes. He further replies to Ouroboros by biting, punching, and lashing out with that massive mace. Ouroboros is rocked but stands firm with a posture of defiance.  Lady Thalia lets loose with a golden lance of light, which Persus side steps. This does allow her the opportunity to slip closer to me, as the companions spread out. Unfortunately, while turning Persus’s tail slaps Nicolos sending him flying a dozen feet back. Thisbe notes that the other buildings are recently ruined, but for some reason the temple is still untouched. She makes for the temple, suggesting we do as well.

    Silenos moves quickly toward the temple, calling out something in Artemis’s name before shooting with a bit more effect. Persus does, what Lady Alexandra has explained to be a warping of time, vanishing, and reappearing back close to his original position. Another storm of lightning, several of the companions are struck, all remain standing, but much worse for wear. I summon a globe of friendly darkness, which blinds the beasts which have drawn down on Thalia and I. Striking one and moving, I goad them into attacking me, buying Thalia some time to maneuver. I can tell you these minions hit like nothing I’ve ever experienced; I can’t imagine how Ouroboros took the blows from Persus himself. Nicolos moves toward the temple pauses to cast something which infused several of the companions with a brief golden light. Immediately thereafter a brighter flame leap from his palm to strike Persus. That flame seemed to do a bit more than expected. While I was busy dodging between dog faces, I heard a thunderclap from behind me. I expected more lightning, a quick glance let me catch the moment that Ouroboros vanished and reappeared near Nicolos at the temple entrance.  Persus laid about him with fangs, claws, and tail. He struck at Alexandra, Thisbe, and Thalia twice. Thalia fell to the ground unconscious a dozen yards from where she had been. Thisbe dashed over to Silenos and Alexandra moved to the temple, stopping short turning and calling forth a shimmering sphere of sunlight that scorched Persus.

  I flew to Thalia and using father’s gift, moved her into the temple. I turned letting my shroud of darkness hide the entrance from the minions.  Nicolos cast a healing spell; I could feel the warming glow of it move through me.  Silenos and Thisbe share some sort of conversation, but it was drowned out by the chittering howl of the titan’s minions. Silenos vanished in a puff and mist, appearing in the temple a moment later, leaving Thisbe alone against a pair of minions. Those minions wasted no time battering Thisbe, thankfully the darkness hampered them, and I could provide some direction for her. Moments later I slide my eyes back to Persus. He vanishes again reappearing outside the blinding sphere of Alexandra and summoned a bolt of lightning flinging it at me and into the temple behind me. I was able to dodge thanks to father’s boots. A heartbeat later I was grabbed by the leg by Thisbe who dragged me toward the temple. She also flung out and arm and tackled lady Alexandra into the temple. The remaining kobolds slammed the doors shut.

  We’re here in the main temple, a large statue of Athena at the front, with other shrines scattered to the sides. We can see the snarling minions’ stalks past the windows, and we can hear Persus howl outside alternating between threats, promises and manic laughter. I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to write again, I feel confident I could flee if needs be, but that would mean leaving crew behind, and I’m loath to do that. Perhaps the kobold’s Lady is still here, they mentioned something about a basement.  Maybe the common enemy of Persus will give us enough common ground for the alliance. I love you mother and will write again once we are safe.

Gyasi