Vance's Journal

Golarion date - Sarenith 21, 4719

Sunday February 10, 2019

Last night, we spent some time collecting ourselves after the ball held for Midsummer’s Eve with the garish looking vameo owner, Baroness Bramila Gellintha. Trajan took one for the team with the crazy old bat to let us obtain some more information. From what we gathered, there is a dimensional gate with an opening directly into the Nine Hells. Archbaron Fex wants us to investigate it as soon as we can. We took some time to rest up and prepare ourselves.
First thing in the morning, we came downstairs to the dining area of our inn and found someone waiting for us. A dispatcher of Her Highness Queen Abrogail II was interested in meeting us and he had a mission. He talked about some kind of Breaching Festival being held at the Academae. That some other adventurers were invited to by the Headmaster of the school. The dispatch told us to gather our things and meet him back at the inn and he would teleport us to a different inn outside of the city of Korvosa in Varisia. We went and bought some potions from a local apothecary and some other mundane items.
After purchasing these items, we gathered our carriage and the horses that Trajan had acquired. He plans to have Morin kill them and raise them so that they can pull the carriage without any stoppage for food or water and we can run them constantly with no rest. The dispatch performed the teleport spell because we had to intercept the other adventurers before they reached the city. Unfortunately, something caused the spell to launch us off course. We ended up in the middle of the forest near the biggest ape I have ever seen. Of course, I have only seen one at the zoo, so my judgement is not the greatest in this matter.
The ape charged us with hunger in its eyes and he started pounding on Malcon. Now as funny as it is to see his highness get beaten upon by a monkey, we had to take care of this crazed animal. After a few moments of back and forth combat the great ape was laid low.
The battle took a lot out of us and we were somewhat disoriented by the teleport. After looking around we found a major caravan road. Luckily once on the road we spotted the signs of a city on the horizon. The dispatcher had informed us that the rival party was staying at an inn just outside the city on the southern trade road. Malcanthet was allowing his pet hellcat “Mittens” to scout around up ahead of us. The fiery beast was the first to discover the inn a couple of miles from where our teleport spell dropped us. There must be warding that bars people from teleporting into the city.
The inn was more dilapidated that we thought. Just outside of the building we noticed a huge gathering or squirrels on the roof. Chattering with anger as we approached the little critters seemed ready for a fight. As we got closer, we noticed the tree rats were clothed and walking upright. Almost all of them were dressed in what seemed like pajamas and armed with little swords in both hands. As soon as we were within range we discovered how deadly they were. They swarmed off the roof running over top of each other to try to attack us. Morin cast a spell I have never seen before and almost all the creatures just stopped moving. A few of the larger and quicker squirrel people survived and attacked furiously.
Each of my party took stock of those left over and attack back with spells, claws, teeth and iron. There was one that seemed to be barking orders at the others its crazy language. Malcon took the chattering as a direct challenge and a furious battle ensued. The little vermin just didn’t have the strength to stand toe to toe with the antipaladin. Every hit against Mal seemed to do little to no damage to him. Every stroke that Mal returned tore into the leader. After a furious exchange, the Skiurid (I found out later what they were called) used a smoke pellet and disappeared. He turned up right behind Morin a split second later and tried to attack the necromancer.
The other squirrels were getting pummeled by the rest of the party. My hellhound was grabbing the critters by the neck in his teeth and shaking them vigorously. The master made a final attack and saw that all his followers we dead or bleeding out on the ground. He decided that discretion was the better part of valor and disappeared again. We quickly regrouped and started to patch up our cuts and scrapes the little terrors caused.
Of course, whenever Trajan gets bored he likes to cause havoc for the party and he kicked in the door of the tavern. Luckily Thori my hellhound followed him. Trajan got a face full of a nasty spell for his efforts. The disintegrate spell was cast by one of the adventurers that we were supposed to take the place of. Trajan was almost killed by the spell and had to retreat. A furious battle of wits and spells took place in the door way as the paladin of Iomedae charged Malcon. The tiefling was able to strike down the paladin with the help of his hellcat and a still wobbly Warpriest before he was able to smite the demonic antipaladin.
Many spells were cast by both parties causing mass damage to each other. Luckily the ranger had miscalculated and tried to set an ambush. We never set foot inside of the inn while combat raged. He basically kept himself out of the battle on his own until it was too late.
If Trajan had not been so devasted from the disintegrate spell it would have been epic to stand back and shoot arrows into the bar at the enemy. But Thori was destroyed and sent back to Hell to heal for combat at a later date. After the spell battle, Trajan was left a couple desperate moments from death. Lying on the ground outside of the bar, we were able to force some healing mixtures down his throat quick enough to keep him alive. After being revived, Trajan used his daemonic divine abilities to heal the rest of the party. we rummaged through the dead bodies to find their goodies and set out towards Korvosa again.

Sunday February 17, 2019

After defeating the adventurers that we were supposed to impersonate, Trajan decided to investigate the dilapidated inn further once he healed those that were injured. Morin followed closely to attempt to keep Trajan’s foolishness to a minimum. Trajan noticed that a metal grating was slightly ajar and investigated. Typically, Trajan causes all kinds of mischief by wondering off by himself, and by going into the county inn he quickly fell into his old ways. Entering one of the rental rooms he passed through a limited circle of salt breaking an undead monstrosity’s rest. Malcon and I were still in the courtyard when we heard the startled surprise of both Trajan and Morin inside the building.
Malcon and his hellcat “Mittens” entered when a feeling of dread took us both from our right. Inside one of the rooms a vile form of undead started to materialize and we had to act. I found out later that Morin and Trajan had their hands full with several different types of undead terrors within the rental rooms. A ghost that had been trapped within the residence had attacked the two. Trajan tried to cast the spell desecration in some weird thoughts of putting the spirit to rest. The spell amplified the presence and made it hunger for more and caused more creatures to appear.
A huge wisplike wraith formed near us and Malcon attempted to “axe” it a question, as he likes to joke. The creature was immaterial and most of the first couple attacks by me, the hellcat and Mal just passed harmlessly through it. The wraith did not seem to have the same problem and tore into Mal with abandon. Malcon’s knees buckled from the damage but what was worse was the unnatural draining that blackness stole from him. The anti-paladin was able to withstand the drain with a show of force and I threw a rock that I had enchanted with a light spell. The thing withdrew from the magical brightness but did not retreat.
In the other room several other undead surrounded my other compatriots. Luckily, our spellcaster had a few tricks still up his sleeve. Morin cast some necromantic spells that caused the undead to stop attacking them and even forced one to turn on its allies. They battled with the apparition and Morin yelled out to not mess with the creatures appeared to be trapped in amber.
The dread wraith was really injuring Malcon and his cat and I was able to get off a lucky shot that hit the incorporeal horror with massive damage. Mal then hit the wraith with multiple axe blows and I finished it off with a combination of arrows and my judgement of Asmodeus. We quickly ran to the other area where my allies were still in magical battle with the ghost and shadows. I stopped just short of the shadows that were caught in Morin’s spell and was able to shoot my bow into the room at the ghost. Malcon could not get passed me and turned into the room adjacent to the spirits and started to axe his way through the wall. Before he could make his own doorway, Trajan, Morin and I finally put the undead to final rest.
We moved back into the courtyard after Morin questioned the one he had mesmerized. The shadow had informed him that they were unable to move outside of the inn. Even the courtyard was restricted for them. Morin forced the shadow to find any treasure left in the inn, while Trajan attempted to light the building on fire. We kept the Warpriest from arson while the shadow brought out a chest and dumped into the courtyard. It was full of gemstones and coins of all sorts. This made us all smile. It also had a few minor magical scrolls and potions that pleased the necromancer. With the other items we ransacked from our adversaries the Asmodean priest sent us to terminate, we had quite a hull.
Since Morin and Trajan had used up all their powerful spells we had to rest to replenish them. Mal and I used the down time to practice our martial skills, before resting ourselves. Malcon uses every chance he gets to tell of his legendary sexual conquests, I think he exaggerates, or he is just trying to be funny. Trajan on the other hand, goes hooker hunting whenever left to himself. At least he did, our whole stay in Egorian. I hope they can both keep it in their pants while we try to act respectable in Korvosa. I doubt it. Morin seems lost without his skeletons and zombies and other creepy crawlies he likes to make out of our victims. The four of us seem like we should be constantly at each other’s throats. But for some reason we seem to get along and even joke with each other and never seem to get under each other’s skins.
I am not sure what to expect when we reach Korvosa. I have heard a lot of rumors about other nations outside of Cheliax, but it is my first time leaving. Both Morin and Trajan are foreigners to my homeland and their weird ways unnerve me sometimes. I am all for destroying my enemies but when Morin brings their corpses back from the dead, I have a hard time turning my back with them behind me. Trajan’s eccentricities make me laugh but I am sure he is going to cause us unneeded stress. I just hope they can stay on point and stay out of trouble. From what I have heard these mongrel Varisians let the slips run free and the Shoanti barbarians run rampant in the cities.