009 - Litany of Liars

We found rest at the inn, but let me describe it's majestic interior, for it was the most welcoming environment I have seen yet on this continent. It was a humongous tent, dull and weather-beaten on the outside, yet beautiful and ornate on the inside. Warmth emanated from the many fire pits on the floor, the smoke rising to vents in the roof peaks. Lanterns and ornaments displaying fancy knots hung from poles holding the roof, and from posts in the ground. Decorative as they are, I should ask somebody to teach me to tie them; I definitely need to improve my skills with rope. The tent, however, was incredibly spacious, with plenty of room overhead for even the tallest of people. A bar took up some of one wall, with stools and its own dedicated fire pit. Along the other walls were rooms set apart with curtains of thick fabric. There was plenty of floor space dedicated to those with their own bedrolls, who did not need private rooms, for free of charge. These people take care of their own. There was no kitchen. but several people were roasting meats over some of the fires, and selling or trading bits of food.

We went up to the bar to rent private rooms, where I unpacked my alchemy kit. I got to work mixing and grinding materials for the new skills and mixtures the shaman alchemist taught me. I blended and filled plenty of vials; I think I may need to stop by the alchemist before I leave town to pick up some more. I passed most of the day in my room; eventually, I had to open the curtains so I could breathe clean air (the room air had gotten clouded by the powders I was stirring). Soon I noticed Sapling sneaking up to the elf who we had followed here. She lay asleep on her bedroll, in the open, with her arms around her staff with the crystal. He was indubeddedly going for the crystal. He must have seen me stare up at him from his eye's blind side, and he motioned for me to keep quite. I flipped him off, why should he steal from someone who has only but helped us along. I kept working, though; the mixture required a constant stir until the palmitate completely dissolves, else the naphtha boil and become unstable. But Sapling successfully filched the staff, and walked out of the tent, trying awkwardly to hide the huge thing.

Later I decided to stop for the night, and have a few drinks with Vol, who was at the bar. We turned as we heard Sapling again, and share a few laughs as he sheepishly returned the staff to the demanding elf. I'm not sure how he had been caught, but I remind myself to thank her for her help and to stay on her good side. Despite the power in her abilities, I think she has a good heart and a patient sense of humor.

I have not seen Nadarr, Polaris, nor Discharge all day. I wondered where they had gone to. I wasn't too concerned for the dragon-born and Polaris, though, I saw them together all the time, they likely left the same way. She knows the land very well, and can talk her way out of anything, and Nadarr has the brawn to protect her should need arise. I was more concerned about Discharge. He knows the land here about as much as I do, which is hardly nothing at all, and could probably fend for himself, but may get overpowered easy if put in a bag. So we went to look for him, which shouldn't have been too hard, given the small size of town. We looked finally in the shaman alchemist's tent, which bore emptiness. I saw a bottle of alcohol on the table and two glasses, one of which had been drugged with a clear powder, now some of it left looked damp from the juice. A classic poisoning technique. When you want their trust, dirty the cup, don't poison the drink; especially if you're drinking from the same canteen. I thought I could trust that teacher, but from what my friends say, he followed the gods, and sold land up here, it was holy ground. But he told me I had no use for the gods, they are mortal just as us. A great liar abducted our friend, for sure, so I raided his cabinet for roots and teeths and lichen, other things of alchemical use that I had little of. And things I had too much of. This bastard was paying. Around the room, of note, the large bedside chest was gone, and Sap noted some wagon tracks leading northwest, along the path of the beam. We followed.

We caught up with the wagon, parked outside another temple, built of the same material as them all. Vol pulled off one of the wheels and threw it far off into the snow, out of sight, so the shaman alchemist could not retreat. We pulled open the double doors, and saw dark, and when we entered... We were in a volcano, flat blank wall behind us with no doors. The mountain was active, and we were in its crater, the lava seethed and flowed its way just feet beneath the stone platforms and walkways we traversed. One such walkway wound and bend the pool, not giving us a straight path to the other side. But we started to cross, and drew the attention of five or so large fiery bats. Sap wasn't having this, and immediately bound two javelins with a length of rope between, stuck one end in the ground here, and hefted one fast into the same path, just farther down where it bends around next to us. He nimbly and daintily bound across the rope and darted further down the path, away from danger. Sure he ran like an agile coward, but I don't blame him so much as the ground here was sturdy as a fish walk, and I suppose trees don't much care for fire (I'll keep that in mind). His trusty spider companion followed suit. Vol saw that our numbers had dwindled in half, and with the odds not favoring us to begin with, we agreed to bolt. I knew Vol was fast, but I didn't think he could keep his pace in that heavy armor, but he did just the same. I lept with such stride that my knee felt it had its cartilege back already and I landed on the other path next to where the javelin struck, easy as saltin' meat. We ran to the end of the path, where there was a long rope bridge. It was under some arcane spell to keep it from burning, for sure. We crossed to the stone island nestled in the lake of lava, where five chests stood. There was another bridge, just as long, but going up to a ledge in the wall of the crater, far off. Sap checked the area of traps, notably the chests, but found even one on the bridge ahead. I noted for later. Sap decided to open a chest, one I vaguely recognized from the shaman alchemist's tent, and the little raccoon jumped out enraged with his sword and burst it aroun with lightning, all of us had dodged, but the poor spider who was watching embers floating up out of the lake on hot wind. He also destroyed three of the other chests, that groaned a shudder of malice as they presumed their true Mimic form and died. The little raccoon confirmed that he had been looking for information on the location of the temple from the alchemist, who had drugged him and bound him in the chest, the bastard. In the last chest, we found a few items, of note, a bandolier for potions that I let Vol have, so he could have quick access to quick health in a pinch. We began to cross the bridge, and came up to the trap. I could see it clear, now that I was looking for it, but before we reached it, we must have engaged it early; it was triggered by proxemmity, not trip. Vol and Sap lept over it, before it had time to burn much, but I looked to the little raccoon, and asked if we could keep this in his bag of holding. It so happens that it would be kept, "in stasis", as he says it, which means it would be stuck in a useless place that wouldn't burn anything or use up any fuel, anyway. So I picked it up (the fire not bothering me, as my candle protected me) and put it in his bag of holding, and we continued on toward the cliff.

There was a neat set of doors at the ledge on the cliff, which led into the throne room of the goddess Avandra, goddess of travel and luck. She was on the throne, though, as a skeleton, and Lolth by her side just absorbed away her power. She recognized us, one and the same, and Sap demanded his explanation again, as to why she would enslave spiders, when Vol and I recognized the need again to interrupt before our lie as revealed. So we started an attack on Lolth, who scoffed, tisked, and caitiffed her way up the wall, and out the skylight above. As we were on edge, the door opened. I turned to look who it was, but just as my eyes layed on him, he had one of Sapling's javelins stuck dead center in his forehead. I looked back to Sapling, must have had leftover rage from Lolth's "treachory" seeping from his heart. He killed the alchemist quicker than lightning (I mean to say, lightning as it strikes. I mean no ill word to Shock Rat's nature). It was justified though, it seems like Lolth had summoned him to kill us. He even had, on his person, a potion of transformation. And though I can't tell what it transforms one to, exactly, I can tell from its smell of diluted sulfur and ash, that at least it reeks of necrosis and death, which would not have bade well for us. Sap climbed out the skylight with his spider, but did not see Lolth, nor could tell of any direction she took, except that the beam again pointed far to the distance. That we should travel that direction, I'd bet my balls we'd find her.

With immediate danger immediately out of the way, we opened camp and rested. Thinking back, it is bad news that the goddess of luck and travel should fall to Lolth. Travellers as we are, we depend on her nature, and now that it's corrupted, we have to depend on our own. I fear for Vol, if Lolth should ever find Kord. Sure, he'd put up a fight, true, but if he lost, what would happen to Vol... Anyway, best not to think of that. We'll catch her well before that should happen. In other thoughts, we found Shock Rat, but not 'Darr or Fox (I'm still trying to think of nicknames for them). We've talked with them before, and let them know how to find us again, should we split. That if they continue following the path of the beam, they'll either find us, or pass us. Hopefully we'll meet again soon. They add a spark of happiness to our group, what of song and story, and a sort of naive wonder at everything. And the interesting and precise contraptions, too. But if they don't come back, at least I have this intricate pen to remember them by.