A Cave in a Fire Storm

26 Navara-
I’m not sure what it is they did, but oh my, Duraz and Roscoe… Why would your first instinct to summon an EARTH ELEMENTAL to DIG A DITCH? To help get rid of water?.. There is something strange going on here. People are talking about hearing voices, and at one point we each forgot our own name. Something isn’t right. It’s almost like the crystals want us to touch them? But that can’t be. They are just crystals… at least I think so… I mean this IS the Crystal Forest of Taika… but I just don’t know… At one point there were specters of us. They didn’t DO anything, but of course our party was quick to judge them evil and attack. Roscoe managed to somehow kill the one that looked like Seksgar. I myself tried to dispel the one that looked like Duraz, but then I remember nothing after that.
 
27 Navara-
It is amazing to see the changes that have occurred since we came through the Crystal Forest all those years ago, so many things have changed and yet others are comfortingly the same. Our doubles were still there when we awoke, but hadn’t seemed to have moved. They seemed to be almost scared of Seksgar, so we were able to leave. But it was all just very odd. Things continue to be odd with their being two suns in the sky and we found an entire city that was trapped in crystal cliffs. I don’t remember any of this being here before. We learned that evidently the specters were reflections of vital parts of our pasts. It was a very nice Kalashtar named Tara who explained the specters to us. She welcomed us into her cave to ride out a looming fire storm. I don’t know where or why these keep occurring... They are not natural, at least I do not believe they are. They have been occurring with greater frequency which is a bit troubling. I would hate for one to occur when we are away from shelter. Thankfully Zin has the ability to create her dome, but still even that takes time to construct. Hmm… perhaps I should ask either Seksgar, Duraz, or Roscoe to ask one of you about them, that is of course if they haven’t already.
 
I haven’t had the occasion for a rather long time to utilize the spell create food and water. I’m finding it most useful now. With that, I am able to create flour, rice, oatmeal, and other staples to help with the creation of our meals. I must remember to find something to bring back to Rena as thanks for the gifting of the spice pouch. Between the spell and the spice pouch, I have been able to create meals that would otherwise just be boring travel rations. I have even been improving on my cookie recipes! I can’t wait for you all to try them when I get back.
 
I thought as a way to show our thanks to Tara for sharing her cozy cave with us I would try to up my game a little with the cooking and to make a nice warm comforting supper. So, I made up a nice large pot of vegetable stew and whipped up some fresh bread for dinner and made, probably one of my best, apple crisps with some of the produce I brought with us. It didn’t turn out half bad if I do say so myself.
 
I love this book that Holly gave me. I can see why it is one of her favorites.
 
I also checked in with Maurice today to see how things are going.
 
28 Navara-
I made some oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins for breakfast this morning along with some of the left-over bread. Tara’s cooking set up is really quite nice. Near enough the cave entrance so that the smoke from the fire doesn’t creep into the rest of the cave. I rather like it! While the oatmeal was cooking, I also took the time to make up some oatmeal cookies to go with some tea for an afternoon treat. The fire storm is still raging outside. I wonder how long it will last. Thankfully I still have the few books I brought with me to whittle away at the time. I wonder if Holly knows that there is a page in the back of the book that has runes on it? I guess while we are stuck in the cave I can try to figure them out but for now it’s almost time to start on Supper! I’m thinking maybe a savory porridge for dinner tonight maybe with some leeks and chicken added to it.
 
29 Navara-
Pancakes it is this morning! I was able to make a HUGE stack of them and oh my do these boys ever eat! I made sure to carve out and fry up some bacon to go with it this morning. For dinner I used some of the flour to make a batter and made up some country fried ham and mashed potatoes. It’s rather brisk in the cave, so I’ve also made sure to keep a kettle of water on or near the fire all day in case the others wanted to heat themselves up with some soothing tea.
 
Maurice is a bit concerned about the tavern. From what he said, Rue and Force Grey will be taking Jarlaxle to Eiswald for his trial. He said the guys from Force Grey have become regular patrons of the tavern and he is concerned with the loss of profit when they leave as they will likely be gone for a number of months. I tried to sooth and calm him down and we did a little brainstorming to try to come up with ideas for ways to counter the loss in revenue. I wonder if perhaps we could offer a catering option for parties or dinners for a little extra coin. I think I will run these ideas past Zin later.
 
30 Navara-
It’s been so long since I’ve dreamt about him. It must be this place and the magic hear. It was so very real and exactly how it was all those years ago… and Mom and Dad… I haven’t been able to quit thinking about Mom and Dad all day. I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to Zin about it yet, and I didn’t have sending prepared today to be able to talk with Holly, Rue, or Rose. I know they are tired, and they have more than earned the right, but I’m so scared. I know I have my siblings to help and support me… but will it be enough? The dreams were too real… I wasn’t even able to focus on that strange page today because of them… every time I tried, my mind would go back to the dreams and what Mom said… The Chosen?... Am I ready?...
 
31 Navara-
I spoke with Zin this morning about the dream. It helped a lot I think. I still don’t know if I’m strong enough, at least not yet. But that’s okay. I WILL be, someday. I will not let my parents or my Goddess down.
 
This book is so very frustrating.. it’s like it’s almost there and if I just keep at it, I will understand what is being said…. I’ve made it a point when I get too frustrated to put it down and to go start cooking something. I think I’ll make something more elaborate for dinner tonight. To help ease my mind I made a nice meat pie, some roasted veggies, and a nice pudding for dinner tonight. I’m thankful for that dimension hole that Roscoe has and that we were able to put my chest of preserving in it. It’s the only reason I was able to bring items that would have otherwise perished already. There is something to be said about a nice warm cup of hot cocoa when you are too troubled to sleep.
 
32 Navara-
I spoke with Maurice again today. He said that the tavern is doing really well! I’m sure that Zin will be happy about that.
 
I wonder just how long this fire storm will continue for?... It has been going for six days already… I kept working on this page… My Goddess how frustrating it is! But at the same time, I keep coming back to it… almost like a need to know what it says… Maybe I’ll figure it out someday. I wish Cas were here, he seemed to know a lot about these types of things. Odd writings and what-not. I hope things are going well for him and he is learning what he was hoping to learn.
 
33 Navara-
I am starting to feel like the page is making a little bit of sense, not a lot, but a little.
 
34 Navara-
This evenings mirror call with Maurice didn’t go like normal today. He seemed rather quite panicked. Something about pirates coming into the tavern with a chest of gold, insisting they knew Roscoe (their names were Molly or Polly or something) and that they drink for free. I told Maurice that I would ask Roscoe about them first thing in the morning.
 
35 Navara-
According to Tara, today should be the last day of the fire storm. So, in preparation for starting back out, I decided to prepare a nice feast for everyone and to give thanks to Tara once again for all of her help. I’m so very ready to go already. I don’t know how much longer I can just sit still. I keep trying to figure out what this page says, but I feel like one day I’m starting to get it and then the next its gone and I’m back to step one. Maybe Zin knows something about this… I should ask her about it.
 
36 Navara-
FINALLY this fire storm seems to be ending. It has been a very pleasant place to stay, and Tara has been an amazing hostess, but I can feel the energy and desire to continue on our way.