Nell's Journal 1
So, given there's a high probability of us all dying, on the off chance that somebody finds our bodies, I thought I should put down a record of what happened to us. Well, up until the point just before we all die, I suppose. It will be difficult to write down the details of my own death, given that I'll be, you know, dead.
Anyway, I'm Nelvax Trotter, though I generally go by Nell (please don't call me Nelly), and I'm currently trapped deep beneath Emperor's Peak with a group of people I haven't known very long, but I'm happy to call my friends. How did we get here? I suppose I should provide some context.
Although I'm from Highhelm originally, I'd been away for quite a while. The details of why I was away aren't really pertinent to this tale. Ask my Tad or sisters if you really want to know the details. It was the 1st of Desnus, 4717, and I'd just arrived back in the city, and I headed straight to my Tad's barbershop/tavern, the Mighty Beaver.
Okay, I didn't really head straight there. I actually stopped at another tavern on the way because I was nervous about returning home after so long and I needed a couple drinks to calm the nerves, but I digress...
I arrived at the Mighty Badger in the early evening. My father is Samgar Trotter, the owner and proprietor. He and my sister, Roxy, were singing for the crowd. My youngest sister, Jorji saw me and came right over.
While I waited for Tad and Roxy to finish singing, some others barged into the tavern. I didn't recognise him at first, but one of them was a degenerate thug I grew up with: Tommar Hardfist. The Hardfists are a disreputable family in Clan Ironfist. Officially, they run mines, but they're also in the money-lending business as well as other things of questionable legality.
When the singing finished, Tommar wanted to speak with Tad, but Tad brushed him off to come see me. He was both happy and angry to see me (it's a long story). Tommar didn't want to be brushed off, and made a fuss, so Tad sent him into the back, promising to speak to him after he was done with me.
After a bit of chopsing with me, Tad introduced me to the crowd, offered free drinks, and went round back to speak with Tommar.
I found a seat and started conversing with people nearby. Some of those would end up being the people trapped with me now. From Roxy, I was able to learn that Tad had borrowed money from the Hardfists and Tommar was probably here to collect. She also told me a few stories about Tommar's recent bullying.
I'll admit I'd already had too much to drink by this point, and well, the Varisians I travelled with for a while (another long story) always said I have an anger-management problem. Zeldana said it would hamper my relationship with Ashava, which I haven't really found so far, but... Never mind. More long stories.
Anyway, when Tommar and the two goons with him came back out, they yelled to Tad something about time running out or some other shit, and I was tamping. I walked right up to Tommar and slugged the bastard. We're all dwarves, so you can probably guess what happened next. Yep! Bar fight! Everyone joined in and, apart from Tommar and his two goons, they were pretty much all on my side, I think. Even Tad waded in, and he's not really made for brawling. Jorji hid, I think, but I don't blame her for that. She's a dwt girl and shouldn't be in bar brawls.
I have to admit, I'm not the greatest brawler in the world, and I probably wouldn't have done well in the fight if it wasn't for the help of everyone else. In particular, one young warrior--I can't remember if I knew her name already at this point, but I definitely knew it before the end of the night--Rudora did a lot of the work in knocking Tommar and the two goons senseless. I owe her a lot for that.
At any rate, we soon threw Tommar and his goons out on their arses. Tad was understandably tamping at me. He insisted I go round to the Hardfists in the morning and apologise. Not my first choice of activities, but he was right. There was the rest of the night to get through first though, and I was going to have a few drinks.
To my surprise, several of the patrons offered to go with me in the morning as extra moral support. I have to tell you, this is what makes us dwarves such great people. We stand up for our fellow dwarves, even when we don't know them, and even when the one being supported caused the problem to begin with.
I suppose I should take a moment to introduce these others, seeing as they've rapidly become very important people in my life. There's Rudora, who I already mentioned. She's a tough young warrior, eager to please. Then there's Halvigrimm, who goes by Hal. He's one of the first people I started talking to, even before the brawl, a very comely individual with an amazing beard. He's a regular client of Tad. He also spoke of having a friend he could bring with him in the morning.
Knox is Hal's cousin. She's a midwife with a raven familiar named Quil. The blasted bird can actually talk! He claims to be really knowledgeable, but when it comes down to it, he doesn't seem to know much. Knox is very pleasant though.
Finally, there's Orta. She's a cleric of both Torag and Groetus. Yeah, I'd never heard of Groetus either, but then, most dwarves have never heard of Ashava either, so I'm hardly one to comment. The really weird part is being a cleric of two gods. I'd never heard of that before. Orta can say and do some slightly creepy things from time to time (Groetus is the god of the end times, so I suppose it makes sense), but while others might be a little disturbed by it, I find it amusing and entertaining. She also seems to have access to negative energy, which harms, instead of the usual positive healing energy (probably because of that whole end times stuff).
I don't remember much else about the remainder of that night (I was totally hanging, not going to deny it). I'm sure I did my midnight ablutions to Ashava (I had my spells in the morning), and then presumably went to bed.
In the morning, we all met in the common room of the Mighty Badger. Hal had brought his friend with him: Helopoeia, a tall, thin, skeletal figure in a robe and wearing a bird mask. When I say *skeletal*, I don't mean skinny. Helopoeia is a literal fucking skeleton. Well, technically, that's just what they look like. They're not undead. They're some sort of outer-planar servant of Pharasma Hal can summon. Definitely intimidating-looking, and I was hopeful would scare the shit out of the Hardfists.
We set out for the Hardfist home, where we were shown in to see Bonman Hardfist, the head of the family. And I made my apology. It actually went surprisingly well. I don't know if Bonman was intimidated by Helopoeia or he was just being reasonable, but he offered a rather reasonable way out. He's opened a new mine in the Depths, and he needed people who could guard the miners from attack by kobolds and other creatures coming up from the Darklands. He said it paid 15 gold per week, and he would deduct 10 to go towards Tad's debt. If we all agreed to the work, it would only take a few weeks to pay the debt off.
This was my problem, and I couldn't ask the others to do this for someone they'd only just met. It was more than enough they come with me to speak to Bonman, but they offered. I wanted to cry. Honestly, they're all banging!
The job was to start the next day, so that gave us the rest of this day to deal with our affairs. Well, the others, at any rate. I didn't really have any affairs to deal with, though I did spend the day catching up with my sisters. Tad didn't say much other than a brief thank you. He's still tamping a bit at me--not just for the night before, but for being gone so long. I should have tried to speak more with him. If I die down here, that will be my only regret. I haven't even told him Ballum is dead, though maybe Roxy or Jorji have by now.
Anyway, the next day we headed out to the Hardfists again and were shown to the mine. It was pretty deep in the Depths, and took a while to get there. Once there, we were given our stations, guarding a group of miners and their foreman, Macharan Hardfist. The work was easy and a little boring at first. We killed a few giant rats here and there, but most of the day went by uneventfully.
It was later in the afternoon, only an hour or two before call time when it happened. It started with these large worms breaking through the ceiling of the passage. They were purple and slimy and about the size of a medium dog. We started killing them without much difficulty, while the miner's moved out of the way. Then the whole tunnel started rumbling and shaking.
See, the "little" worms were just the babies, and Mam was on the way.
A moment later, a massive worms broke through the ceiling. The size of this motherfucker was...well, I don't know. I never saw the whole thing all at once. All I know is it swallowed one of the miners whole and then crashed through the floor, not stopping at all in its movement.
And then I was falling. We all were. Rocks pounded against me.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up on top of a pile of rocks in a small, lightless cavern. The mine had collapsed and we had fallen who knew how far. It was a miracle we were alive. I had been knocked out, and Knox had been temporarily deafened. Hal had to re-summon Halopoeia, but otherwise we were all relatively fine.
Searching the rubble, we found the mangled body of Macharan Hardfist, as well as some equipment like rope from the mining supplies. There was also a slight breeze, indicating air was getting into the cavern from somewhere. With a bit of digging through the rubble, we were able to open up a crawlway into another passage.
Meta: Session 1 End
There were natural steps heading up, which was good. That was exactly the direction we needed to go. I scouted ahead and found two passages, one continuing up and the other heading down. We decided to follow the one going up, but as we proceeded, a massive motherfucking centipede crawled out of the rocks and attacked us. Now, I'll be honest. I don't do well with bugs. I can't stand them, especially the giant motherfuckers that crawl around the depths, and this one was as big as any of us. I might've freaked out a little. Anyway, it actually died relatively easily, and we continued on our way... Only to reach a cavern filled with giant fucking beetles. By the silver light! There's a reason I've always avoided the depths. After we dispatched the beetles, we decided to camp in the cavern. There was no other way out, so it would be easy to defend if we were attacked. We took some time to take stock of what supplies we had. Now, my new friends may be banging, but they are not well-prepared for wilderness travel. Rudora was the only one other than me who even had any rations. To be fair, we all expected to go home at the end of the day, but it's always prudent to be prepared. Luckily, Rudora and I had enough rations to share, and we could cook up the legs of the beetles. We had a few days of food at least, and we could always scavenge for fungi and other edibles, though once again, Rudora and I are the only ones with any wilderness survival skills. We set up a watch schedule--I made sure to take the midnight slot--and went to sleep. The next morning, we headed back the way we'd come and took the passage sloping downwards. It wasn't the way we wanted to go, but it was the only remaining option. We came into large, multi-level cavern covered in hair. A group of--I have no idea what they were--hairy little bouncy things came at us. Several of them were all squashed together to make a bigger one. They were bouncy and hard to hit, but they didn't seem capable of a lot of damage, and thankfully, there weren't bugs! They gave little electrical shocks. The big one had a stronger shock and it was the only one which was really threatening. Rudora took care of it though, even after one of the smaller ones jumped into it to bolster it a little. After the fight, we were able to collect the hair on the ground--hair that had presumably come from this creatures. It was springy and made a nice mattress, one with trampoline qualities. Hal wanted it to sleep on though. It was heavy to carry with us, but we managed. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Helopoeia's been carrying Macharan Hardfist's body with us, so we're not exactly travelling light. Later, we found some "daybreak lichen" that can be crushed to make light. We collected some of that and then reached a big cavern with a large cliff face. There were ledges on the way up, but overall, it was over 100 feet tall. It was also the only way to go any farther, and up was the direction we wanted to go anyway. We'd found a grappling hook and a rope in the mining supplies, so I used that to start climbing. I reached the first ledge, and Rudora followed me up. I then hooked the grappling hook onto a stalagmite at the top and brought a rockfall down on me. Luckily, I managed to avoid harm. I then made it to the top. Rudora started up after me, but right then, guess what? That's right. Another fucking giant bug came at me. This was the biggest yet, with massive fucking claws. It spat some sticky strands at me, but I avoided that. I'm pretty lithe and dextrous if I do say so myself, so I'm good at dodging. Rudora made it to the top and the two of us were able to take out the bug. The others were then able to slowly make their way up the cliff. At the top, we found the bug's lair in a pool of water, where we found a huge uncut emerald worth a small fortune, probably enough to pay off Tad's debt all at once! Of course, we have to get back to Highhelm first. We broke up the big bug and took some time to cook the claws (and the legs of the beetles from the day before) to add to our food supply. The only way out from here was up another ledge, so we ascended and continued on. Later, in a small side cavern off the passage we were following, we found some edible mushrooms to add yet more to our food supply. We now have a pretty good stockpile of food. Hopefully, it will be enough to get us through this ordeal. Well, my watch is ending. If this is the last (and only) entry, you know we died shorty after I wrote it, and I'm enjoying the afterlife with Ashava. But hopefully, it's not the last.
There were natural steps heading up, which was good. That was exactly the direction we needed to go. I scouted ahead and found two passages, one continuing up and the other heading down. We decided to follow the one going up, but as we proceeded, a massive motherfucking centipede crawled out of the rocks and attacked us. Now, I'll be honest. I don't do well with bugs. I can't stand them, especially the giant motherfuckers that crawl around the depths, and this one was as big as any of us. I might've freaked out a little. Anyway, it actually died relatively easily, and we continued on our way... Only to reach a cavern filled with giant fucking beetles. By the silver light! There's a reason I've always avoided the depths. After we dispatched the beetles, we decided to camp in the cavern. There was no other way out, so it would be easy to defend if we were attacked. We took some time to take stock of what supplies we had. Now, my new friends may be banging, but they are not well-prepared for wilderness travel. Rudora was the only one other than me who even had any rations. To be fair, we all expected to go home at the end of the day, but it's always prudent to be prepared. Luckily, Rudora and I had enough rations to share, and we could cook up the legs of the beetles. We had a few days of food at least, and we could always scavenge for fungi and other edibles, though once again, Rudora and I are the only ones with any wilderness survival skills. We set up a watch schedule--I made sure to take the midnight slot--and went to sleep. The next morning, we headed back the way we'd come and took the passage sloping downwards. It wasn't the way we wanted to go, but it was the only remaining option. We came into large, multi-level cavern covered in hair. A group of--I have no idea what they were--hairy little bouncy things came at us. Several of them were all squashed together to make a bigger one. They were bouncy and hard to hit, but they didn't seem capable of a lot of damage, and thankfully, there weren't bugs! They gave little electrical shocks. The big one had a stronger shock and it was the only one which was really threatening. Rudora took care of it though, even after one of the smaller ones jumped into it to bolster it a little. After the fight, we were able to collect the hair on the ground--hair that had presumably come from this creatures. It was springy and made a nice mattress, one with trampoline qualities. Hal wanted it to sleep on though. It was heavy to carry with us, but we managed. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Helopoeia's been carrying Macharan Hardfist's body with us, so we're not exactly travelling light. Later, we found some "daybreak lichen" that can be crushed to make light. We collected some of that and then reached a big cavern with a large cliff face. There were ledges on the way up, but overall, it was over 100 feet tall. It was also the only way to go any farther, and up was the direction we wanted to go anyway. We'd found a grappling hook and a rope in the mining supplies, so I used that to start climbing. I reached the first ledge, and Rudora followed me up. I then hooked the grappling hook onto a stalagmite at the top and brought a rockfall down on me. Luckily, I managed to avoid harm. I then made it to the top. Rudora started up after me, but right then, guess what? That's right. Another fucking giant bug came at me. This was the biggest yet, with massive fucking claws. It spat some sticky strands at me, but I avoided that. I'm pretty lithe and dextrous if I do say so myself, so I'm good at dodging. Rudora made it to the top and the two of us were able to take out the bug. The others were then able to slowly make their way up the cliff. At the top, we found the bug's lair in a pool of water, where we found a huge uncut emerald worth a small fortune, probably enough to pay off Tad's debt all at once! Of course, we have to get back to Highhelm first. We broke up the big bug and took some time to cook the claws (and the legs of the beetles from the day before) to add to our food supply. The only way out from here was up another ledge, so we ascended and continued on. Later, in a small side cavern off the passage we were following, we found some edible mushrooms to add yet more to our food supply. We now have a pretty good stockpile of food. Hopefully, it will be enough to get us through this ordeal. Well, my watch is ending. If this is the last (and only) entry, you know we died shorty after I wrote it, and I'm enjoying the afterlife with Ashava. But hopefully, it's not the last.
The Party
Halvigrimm (Hal) Iaso
Knox Iaso
Nelvax (Nell) Trotter
Orta
Rudora Tasgall
Plus...
Helopoeia (Hal's eidolon)
Quil (Knox's familiar)
Metadata
Featured Music
Featured NPCs
Sam
Roxy
Jorji
Tommar Hardfist
Bonman Hardfist
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