Post Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk here (July 2016) Ota Sura's Orks + Tower Descent

July thread for Journal entries about game sessions this month! Remember that Session XP and Treasure/Loot can be cataloged in another thread, <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1861516/treasure" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1861516/treasure</a>... Journal XP Bonus is awarded for this thread. Post your Journal entries here. (You may also copy your Journal to your Character's personal logbook thread, but the XP award is based on posting it in the monthly Journal thread in the chronological windows of time, week to week between sessions.)Please write your own Journal XP Bonus proposal in chat. I'll review it and approve the XP amount and description. We'll use this thread for all sessions taking place in the month of JULY 2016. This is the 17th consecutive month of Player Journals for this homebrew world. Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (March 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (April 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (May 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (June 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (July 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (August 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (September 2015) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (October 2015) Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (November 2015) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (December 2015) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (January 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (February 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (March 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (April 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (May 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (June 2016) . Link to Journals / Story / Notes / adventure talk (July 2016) . Pictured: Orcs in Kimba Hai are practicing formations to run quickly through a magical gate opening. Open Window: Journals July 5-7 sessions. Orks in Kimba Hai, Tower Descent Portlandio. The main party is in the orcish lands of the North, facing climactic challenges in the city of Kimba Hai: Earthbenders raising Colossuses in Rock Orc Factory . Guzarl's coup against the Riig Orc King in the Keep and Palace of Kimba Hai. The magical opening of Harlepen Gate in the Orc High Priests Temple using recipe ingredients discovered by party members as follows: (1)&nbsp;a key of information and directions from Lord Harlepen for configuring the Gate destinations,&nbsp; (2)&nbsp;binding agents from the farm weed,&nbsp; (3)&nbsp;stone from the bedrock in the Factory,&nbsp; (4)&nbsp;and body parts from the captives in the slave pen + the corpses of dead local orcs. Quite a nasty recipe for building a Rock Orc Army backed by Colossuses for a magic gate invasion. Use this bullet point list to organize your plans and tactics for the conclusion of ork time in Kimba Hai!&nbsp; There are maps and rooms in-game to resolve these scenarios.&nbsp; You can also approach the Kimba Hai quests in play-by-post (here) or theater of the mind, so use this space to talk about your tactics, plans and ideas to resolve your best exit plan and get back to Ota Sura's Outpost soon so she can restore your polymorph form. And we will continue to make new epic homebrew adventures from there! For example Solid's PC's Mork and Gork are already working on finding structural&nbsp;vulnerability&nbsp;and geological weaknesses in the Rock Orc Factory as a way to collapse the military machine's main production. Vargen plans to continue infiltrating the High Priest complex, finding Lord Harlepen himself, and gleaning information about the teleport gates leading up to the climactic final sabotage at the end of Kimba Hai adventures. Sigma has been rising in Military Orc Rank, which can allow him passage anywhere in the city, particularly the Palace of the Riig Orc King, and the depths of the Factory. Those PC's and any others may extend your tactics-roleplay, play-by-post, or Q&A, in forum, so that we can cruise through some epic actions off-map between game days, and prepare to play our favorite key battles and scenes on game day. 2nd Mob party is formed in Portlandio Province: Now trying to get into the mysterious Tower Descent which darkens the Lighthouse District on High Harbor Cliff.&nbsp; Post any game discussion here, tactics or roleplaying by-post, or even game-relevant references and memes all month long! + journals.

Tanaka/Kricket's goal would be to learn as much about the rock orc factory as he can before he leaves town. Tanaka/Kricket is most interested in learning about how they change orcs into&nbsp;rock orcs.&nbsp;&nbsp;He'll check in with the party when he can, so that he doesn't have to worry about them blowing it up with him inside of it. Kricket would be introducing himself as a magic user who's knowledge is irreplaceable. He has double ranks in&nbsp;Spell Craft,&nbsp;Ancient History,&nbsp;Local History,&nbsp;Religion,&nbsp;Engineering, and&nbsp;Persuasion.&nbsp;Tanaka/Kricket would not be opposed to actually helping the orcs to improve the process, or to doing sacrifices.

Once setting fot atop the tower and noticing the insane amount of undead located there, the inpulse to cast a spell came over her and so she did the result resulted whit her seeing her hands fade away from eyesight her legs likwise beeing frightened by the load noices of the rest of the party the clashin of metal against metal she dicided to hide and this she did untill it was time to leave again.

Tower of Decent, Figuring out the Elemental Key Code!

Swargen Journal, Date Unknown Summoned by Thor..... Now in Limbo..... No ideas what happened or how i came to be trapped in this place..... No Sun, no Moon, no up or down...... I am dying here!!! Thor, why have you summoned me, to leave me here? Is this some test of faith?!? You know my heart, and i will not falter..... Minutes, hours, days, YEARS, leave me in this place; I feel you in my heart, although i no longer hear your voice in my mind..... Sigma, Kricket, Valkenhayn, Cylara, Azur, Torvald, i have not forgotten you.... Thor's light one day will guide our paths together again. My spirit may be held here, but my heart is with you all.. Thor Shield my Family, and Guide Their Hammer.. as you have always done for me....

Crixus nearly killed flying-rock-birds... Great-bird-holy-man held Crixus back from glorious combat... Flying-rock-birds won't be so lucky next time!

Thanks and welcome to our new Journal writers from Thursday sessions (adventuring in a mysterious Tower Descent in Portlandio above the cliffs). Erik , playing dual sessions Tuesday ( Yokoyama ) and Thursday ( Chakavi playing as an Ork). Your bonus XP was awarded in the chat for the above skeleton entry. That's funny, Mat , for your Goblin Gladiator Crixus held-back by the collar. Good gaming. WickedWayz : cool campy-but-realistic photo hacks! That's my style: digital mashup that has actual scenes from the RP, shameless blending of art-styles. I dig. Propose or request your Journal bonus XP in chat on game day and I'll approve it to add on your Bio Tab and Save on character in game. Recap for Paul to get your PC's up to Ork speed while still in Kimba Hai: Tuesday Main Session venturing towards the culmination of Ota Sura's Ork Party adventure.. Next, I'm posting to catch Paul up with the state of Tuesday's game, as Paul will be returning soon from time-away from the game. His PC's are Swargen (Norseman Priest of Thor, turned into a hammer-wielding ork form) and Rajhad (a little halfling rogue, it now looks like a goblin with hoodie and spear). At first everyone was befuddled in their mind but with the passage of time, you recovered your heart and spirit, mind, and class abilities, but still in the Orkish body form. So you know that you are not an evil orc on the inside, you're a hero who is just pretending to be an orc so that you can pass freely around their city and put a wrench in the orc-invasion plans. Baradin the Human Cavalier wrote an orkish reminder-note to himself, to help him not lose sight of his inner character: We are getting closer to the climax and conclusion of the adventures in the form of Ota Sura's Orks, and can get polymorphed back to familiar, regular PC race/species form, after we finish the quest and return to Ota's outpost. Your mission locations and quest-lines that remain while you're Orkish are as listed in the 1st post. To summarize, this is so you can think about your plans and tactics before the session --- 1. A smart allied Wizard-academic Orc (odd for an orc) named Guzarl wants to overthrow the Orc Riig King, which could help the party because the Orc King Riig is uniting the disparate orc tribes into a united war machine, while Guzarl promises to return the orc culture to small clans warring amongst themselves instead of planning a united invasion, if his coup is successful. Some PC's want to help Guzarl, others want to disrupt the coup, and still others are ignoring the orcish politics as they don't care either way about this sub-plot. 2. The Orc High Priest Temple, where with the help of turncoat human Lord Harlepen (PICTURED ABOVE -- the mustache knight talking to the evil orc high priest), they plan to open magical Gates that would let 1000's of orcs pour into Honshar (Ota's town) and Portlandio (party home base) for a surprise invasion attack. One of the party's goblins Vargen ( Valkenhayn the Rakasta Invoker) is employed as a janitor in the temple now, discovering clues to sabotage the gate opening. 3. The Rock Orc Factory is below the Underground City, and it is their military industrial complex, manufacturing Rock Orcs and 200-foot-tall Colossuses, who are planned to burgeon the orc troops passing through the aforementioned magic Harlepen Gate. Solid's characters Gork ( Baradin ) and particularly Mork ( Torvald who is a dwarf with underground senses) are already working on plans to collapse or flood the Rock Orc Factory using structural weaknesses and geologic fault lines, and routing an underground lake. 4. The captive pen or slave pens, sit above the Rock Orc Factory connected by a tunnel and fountain. No PC's have gone into the Captive Pens yet to see what this all about or to try to free these captives. Rumors informed some party members that the captives are being used as an ingredient in the evil recipe for manufacturing rock orcs. It would be heroic and Good-aligned if someone frees the captives, or at least some of them. The party has already gotten into the Orc City of Kimba Hai through their massive front gates and TSA security checkpoint, and everyone else has fought in the Orc Arena, so let's say that Swargen and Rajhad have already done those introductory bits as well, on their own. This way Paul , you can join with your 2 PC's and have them already addressing the above 4 scenarios. Make up some kind of tactical ways that either/both Swargen and Rajhad would be working to investigate, spy, defeat, politic, or sabotage, on at least 1 of the 1-2-3-4 scenarios. This will help get us rolling on game day. Psyched you're coming back to play Paul . DM Gold (I moved this text over from the scheduling thread, fits more with the Journals and adventure talk thread).

I think the most sensible ways would be Swargen in the temple helping sabotage the gates, and Rajhad doing its normal thing of aimless wandering with the intent of aiding the party however it can; most likely, the slave pens to pick locks and free captives, being a rogue and against being held captive for obvious roguish reasons lol

Man, without a doubt Sigma has been floundering around doing the best he can with his nonmagical Healing/Herbalist/Toxicology NWPs, but stopping bleeding, stitching gashes and setting bones with splints just isn't the same thing as a priest's Cure spells.&nbsp; At the moment we left the last game, Sigma-Ork (Sergeant Skullsmasher) was thumbs and fingers into Kricket-Ork stabilizing him and only barely managing it.&nbsp; We're all out of healing potions and enchanted bandages .&nbsp; We don't have a healing wand or rod , and it's our priest that's at death's door... again .&nbsp; It's not through any fault of the player or the character, too... just some terrible bad luck on rolls, that only seem to occur with Big Boss Level opponents.&nbsp; What we need is a clever raid on a clerical armory, so we get excellent enchanted armor and defenses for our most vulnerable PCs , and cure wounds/disease/poison items... and deny them to our enemies.

I have a fear of robbing magical items from established organizations. They tend to have magical traps and tricks that I have no idea how to avoid. Generally these places have the gold and means to set up layers and layers of protection. I'm all for doing a clever raid, but I would be leaning heavily on your guy's player knowledge. &nbsp;

Well, it has to be said, we ALL have that limitation.&nbsp; But taking chances is what we're all about.&nbsp; Lately we've had a big losing streak---lots of pyrrhic victories, more accurately---that have shown us what the vulnerabilities of the party really are.&nbsp; Clock's ticking before the invasion process kicks off, so a heist of such things would fill in for our shortcomings.&nbsp; The clever part of a heist would not so much be the getting-in as it would be the getting-out.&nbsp; We'd need red herrings galore, and a bunch of misdirection and diversions.&nbsp; Fortunately, we can arrange diversions.&nbsp; Framing Harlepen for it would make things even sweeter, creating dissent and suspicion. We are in what is called a " wasp " position, strategically: a single wasp stinging the driver of a car can result in everyone inside being killed when the car crashes.&nbsp; It doesn't take a lot of force, just that small amount of force done with the correct timing.&nbsp; Right now, we are an intelligence-gathering raiding party with very good cover.&nbsp; The mayhem we can cause can be massive; what we need the most is an escape plan.&nbsp; When the ground is imploding, factories are crumbling, fires are raging, and we're setting off explosions everywhere as stone collossi fall, "run to Ota Sura's cabin" isn't enough of a plan. Of course, we could also let the invasion happen, after setting the Gates to the wrong altitude (got parachute? Didn't think so), or the wrong effective latitude (letting the planetary rotational velocity differential effectively fire the invaders at 160MPH+ through the other end of the Gate). :)

Sigma-Ork (Sergeant Skullsmasher) does not know Honshar well, but does know Portlandio fairly well.&nbsp; Thus he has surmised that the point of insertion for the invasion of Portlandio is most likely: Lord Harlepen's Manor House. Gates and teleporters open most safely and accurately to familiar places (or familiar patterns).&nbsp; Harlepen acquired the manor, immediately boarded it up, and left it under guard.&nbsp; The Manor House is inside of Portlandio's existing defenses, all of which faced outwards at the time Harlepen left.&nbsp; As a Lord's abode, it would be virtually immune to search and suspicion. Easiest flash invasion: Gate in the troops to the Manor House interior, explode outwards, and immediately take the Governor's Palace, then the other strategic spots in the city.

Sigma has no interest in helping Guzarl except in using Guzarl to further disable the orc culture and war machine.&nbsp; Guzarl might have great plans for the orcs but that in no way makes him an ally or a friend.&nbsp; In fact, Sigma's greatest suspicion of Guzarl is that he intends to usurp the existing Riig then use the war machine that's already been assembled by Harlepen and the Riig. Another thing that bugs Sigma is that he has witnessed the Imperial Dragon arrive and callously crush Koryon Army troops during the Margrave's Coronation. &nbsp; He knows from Challenger talk that this dragon is the Koryon General Yi Bang and that the General has made it clear he intends to be an Emperor some day.&nbsp; Sigma can't help but notice that Yi Bang is a known shapechanger, hasn't specified Emperor of Who or What , and right here is this big Orcish war machine after Yi Bang has been in absentia "fighting the orcs."

A functional gate would be great, but risky. At the moment, I believe that our best bet to free slaves from the orcs is to set up an underground railroad that leads to the wood elfs. It worries me that I dont know anything about their culture, but their actions at helping the orcs learn how to farm shows that they maybe willing to provide temporary shelter or possibly guide them to safety. Just freeing the slaves would make a fine distraction, but I doubt that the slaves would escape the city. I expect that they would be hunted down like animals. Cutting off the slave food supply may also cause a slave riot if we can free them and provide them with weapons. Again, I dont expect that many slaves would survive this bold move, but they would be a distraction.

I'm Smart, I'm Stupid. Things had been going very well for me at this point. I was slowly starting to piece together how their gate worked, a general direction of&nbsp;Harlepen and I thought I was in the perfect position to keep learning more and more. Then something else happened. While I was doing my investigation I was given the chance to make some side money, which I could take back with me to Portlandio. All I had to do was kill some Imps. Easy enough. By this point I was used to my (stupid, disgusting, filthy) Goblin form and I was able to cast my most mighty of spells, obviously. When we went to the farm we were to work at, we met two very interesting Orc druids. They weren't very powerful druids, but they said some very druid like and very non Orc-like things. At the time I wondered if they could be brought to our cause. But the highlight of that day was I had once again proven why I was not only a powerful wizard, but one of the smartest. Afterall, even in my Goblin form I managed to kill a Demon. An actual Demon. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure what KIND of demon, but it was a fucking demon. I killed it. This shows that I have limitless potential to advance my power in the Arcane....I was very giddy at the time. To be honest I'm still a bit giddy about it. After I had killed the demon I knew that I could learn even more of&nbsp; Guzarl's spells and&nbsp;techniques. I truly was a Grayson after all. Still am, obviously.

As you figure out the Elemental Key Code ,on one of the outer turrets. a tennis court unfolds and a match ensues

Paul W. said: I think the most sensible ways would be Swargen in the temple helping sabotage the gates, and Rajhad doing its normal thing of aimless wandering with the intent of aiding the party however it can; most likely, the slave pens to pick locks and free captives, being a rogue and against being held captive for obvious roguish reasons lol Well first... Swargen can help heal Baradin's broken leg. Those damn orcs set and bandaged it but didn't do more than that. Poor guy has been sitting in the orc temple each day. Watching them go about their rounds and learning their routines...&nbsp;

Game Music for this Tuesday main session: BLACK MOUNTAIN Gold-DM (GM): New songs added! For the party of Ota Sura's Orks, now rising to the the culmination of Kimba Hai adventures. PLAYLIST: 7 songs selected by Gold from the discography of my Chilean music friend Diego Frías. Black Mountain...&nbsp; Those Eyes...&nbsp; Never (Among The Wolves)...&nbsp; When You Are Not Home..&nbsp; For All Flowers..&nbsp; THE ROAD Song lyrics and tone may or may not contain clues for the game play. Enjoy the soundtrack & listen in Roll20 during the pre-game hours. Here is a link to the same playlist on soundcloud for out-of-game listening, you can also post comments for Diego here,&nbsp; <a href="https://soundcloud.com/dgold/sets/roll20-orc-city-" rel="nofollow">https://soundcloud.com/dgold/sets/roll20-orc-city-</a>... ( If you recognize the voice, Erik and Larry , it's the same singer as "City Of Gold" from an earlier in-game playlist that we liked & repeated for a while ) See you all in a few hours for game day!

Lesson #1: Application of dwarven !!Science!! is imprecise and wholly unpredictable... Nothing ample amounts of kittens, elves(hippies), goblins, kobolds, etc... can't solve! Also remember:

Journal 7/5 While I lay there in the orc hostel I entered a rather peculiar dream state. Vivid and almost real. I dreamed that we were our selves... and once again transformed by Ota Sura... and then we were orcs, goblins and trolls transformed in to humans by some shaman. And then we were humans transformed in to some kind of elementals by a priest. And then trasformed in to demons by some.... god? As I lay there the dream felt so real... and it kept going. We were guinea pigs being transformed over and over to aid in someone else's cause. I had heard of radical wizards talk of alternate realities before... could this similar event be taking event in multiple existences? Or did I just lick the wrong toad again? It just felt... so... real.

DM Notes: Tuesday July 12 session as Ota Sura's Orks! Point-Person PC's for climactic scenarios in Kimba Hai PALACE KEEP Enemy: Orc Riig King Ally or Enemy?: Guzarl Lead PC: Skullsmasher / Sigma Lead PC: Basilisk / Furnace Lead PC: Tanaka / Kricket Spotter: Mork / Torvald Spotter: Alghr / Airen Spotter: Azur ORC TEMPLE HARLEPEN GATE Enemy: Orc High Priest Enemy or Neutral??: Earthbender Enemy or what??: Lord Harlepen Lead PC: Vargen / Valkenhayn Lead PC: Swargen Spotter: Tanaka / Kricket CAPTIVE PENS Enemy or ???: Earthbenders Enemy or ???: Slaver Orcs Lead PC: Swargen Lead PC: Jingles / Rajhad Lead PC:: Gork / Baradin Spotter: Alghr / Airen Spotter: Cylara FACTORY Enemy or ???: Earthbenders Enemy: Colossuses Enemy: EarthRockers Enemy: Rock Orcs Lead PC: Mork / Torvald Lead PC: Gork / Baradin Spotter: Azur Spotter: Tanaka / Kricket Spotter: Skullsmasher / Sigma OTHER: Arena Enemy: various Lead PC: Each PC individually fights here. OTHER: Underground City Ally or ???: Hakeet Ally or ???: Catena Lead PC: Chakavi OTHER: Kimba Hai aboveground city Lead PC: Everyone. OTHER: Orc/Druid Plant Farm Ally or Enemy?: Orc Druids Enemy: Imps and Demon Lead PC: Skullsmasher / Sigma Spotter: Vargen / Valkenhayn Spotter: Tanaka / Kricket Window closed for Journals of previous session. Window opens for Journals of the latest session! What do you think, ork?

Divines, these creatures give me no end of frustrations. A hundred carefully laid plans were made, but it doesn't change that I'm surrounded by monsters, brutes, and murderers. As strong as they are, they have no concept of fear. They simply rush forward, believing themselves immortal. After all we have done, everything we strove for, is a direct assault on the palace our only option? There has been no attempt at luring the orc king outside of his keep, or of tricking the guards into looking the other direction. Madness and chaos, death and destruction. Is the fate of these two peoples to be decided upon a blow of a club? This is madness! I had thought better of Valkenhyne and Guzarl, but they wild their power with the finesse of an ogre. Perhaps pride is the natural limitation of the strong. Regardless, the moment the king is brought to his knees is the moment I will throw the summ of my might at Guzarl's exposed back. Perhaps there will be a kink in his armor that I can exploit, or he'll be too drained of spells to instantly slay me. If not... I have lost nothing. Either my allies will avenge my death, or I will see their true nature brought to light. Kurtalmak, you have cursed me with many things, but this courage is unbearable.

Grubar Running for his life from Verbeegs, so as too fight another day,in northwest forest of Portlandio while Hamaskas ,Horukh and Yoko Rain down fire.

Brought to you by Portlandio Lock n Key <a href="https://youtu.be/QwRISkyV_B8" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/QwRISkyV_B8</a>

Heavy, Heavy thoughts from Sigma, which will affect everything.... Preparing for the attack upon the Riig, as agreed upon with Guzarl, I question many things, and one of them is this: Are all of these orcs evil? And then I ask this: Should they all be killed? And my answer, in my heart, despite my hatred, is: no. I don’t think I can do it.&nbsp; I won't LET myself do it. I hate Gruumsh in a way that nearly blinds me. My soul was poisoned by Alkarg’s possession. I hate Gruumsh and his followers intensely. And… if I completely give in to that hatred, I become like Gruumsh. I hate that even more. There are orcs, goblins, kobolds, and others in and under Kimba Hai who are not a willing part of the war machine we’re trying to destroy. If we flood the lower levels, implode the undercity, and collapse the living quarters, we will kill innocents. If not innocent, then at the least, the uninvolved. We would slaughter those undeserving of death. Kill them all? This is war, so kill everyone? That would make us like the Orcs of Gruumsh, who spread terror and death, razing towns and burning forests and fields. We would not be the Challengers of Destiny.&nbsp; We would in every way that matters become the new Orcs of Gruumsh, destroying a city and slaying the living just because they are there. Evil done in the name of good is still evil, and good done in the name of evil is still good.&nbsp; I will not let myself become so enraged that I slaughter children and tradespeople and slaves, and then congratulate myself as being a great champion of Good. I realize, as we move in to eliminate the Riig, that what we must do is not kill everyone in Kimba Hai. We must instead destroy the warmaking capability, and the temples and followers of Gruumsh. Those who are sworn to Gruumsh take Gruumsh’s poisonous mind into theirs, and must be destroyed lest they bring Gruumsh more power by their very existence, spreading his horrors while he laughs in triumph. The rest of the orcs, though, do not follow Gruumsh. Are many of them evil? Yes. Can evil ever be completely eliminated? No. Can evil be turned to more moderate ways? Sometimes it can. This is like clearing a blight from a forest. With fire and blade, we must carve out the ruinous cancer and let the rest of the forest remain, and grow strong enough to resist the blight forever after. This is the solution.

(teasing Cat) Valk's Girlfriend.

Larry D. said: (teasing Cat) Valk's Girlfriend. That joke has a certain STENCH about it, Kow-Man! Let's see whose picture Sigma carries in his wallet. What in the Nine Hells?! GAME DAY is here again! Ready to Play?

I don't know what the deal is... We were always calling Sigma - Stench Cow behind his back &nbsp;(~_~)

The prelude to The Challenger's assault on the Orc King's tower... Using powerful Illusion magic... The head of Old One-Eye appeared over Krimba-Hai to warn the orcish people of his displeasure. The god's massive (ghostly)&nbsp;hands raked through the city to further cement their coming doom! After witnessing this display of power, many orcs fled into the surrounding wilds; full filling the promise made to Guzarl to save his people.&nbsp;

Journal Notes 7/12 Where has this distrust of Guzarl come from? Just as he says... he has done nothing to earn our distrust. I too cast ESP from time to time, and WHAT is Kricket thinking? Sure.... everyone has a drop in their guard from time to time, but attacking Guzarl is foolish. The only result from such an attempt surely is to be blown away in to the wind as ash or to be melted down in to the earth.&nbsp;

What was he? Blessed by Kurtulmak, the sole guardian of the Kobold race, or cursed by Kurtulmak, forever fleeing the heaven offered to the true believers. It was a puzzle that he couldn't piece together, no matter how he wrapped his mind around it. He had to learn more, had to find out why his life had been prolonged. To find out why he had been outcast from Kurtulmak's Great Mine. Kricket read through the texts he had stolen, and read through them again. No answers were to be found, yet he felt Kurtulmak's claw protecting him. It was not good to be a lone kobold. Unable to find the answers from his own god, Kricket turned to other deities. Proud Isis, who's lips dripped with mysteries had much knowledge to share, but not what he longed to hear. Zeus, he who forged the heavens and cast thunder from the sky, taught Kricket the way of the warrior. To wear armor and throw mighty stones. But Zeus would not tell Kricket the answer he sought. Frustrated, Kricket found a school of great learning. He wasn't able to be a student, but he could listen in and visit if he had a friend who was enrolled. Fascinated by the knowledge that was stored here, Kricket dove into it, learning much, but the most important thing he learned was that true knowledge was not gained through books, but rather experience. Even so, Kricket began to see a pattern in the words of old priest and rambling mages. There was a source, a power that birthed all magic, divine and arcane. Perhaps there, at the spring of the world. At the essence of reality, he would find his answer.

Swargen Journal 7/19/2016 &nbsp; &nbsp;*this is more of a prayer than a journal, but here seems the "appropriate" place for it.* Thor, your guidance and wisdom are called upon by your faithful servant. I can not determine if this is the Hammer I seek. Your servant is baffled to find it in the hands of an Orc, such a lowly filthy creature should not be graced with such an artifact. To find it in ones hands seems a mockery of your might.I ask you to guide me, do i offer this item to a Temple in Your Name? Or do i believe, through Lore and seeing what it can do, that this IS the Hammer of Thor told of in Legend? I beg you, as you guide my prayers and arm and heart, Guide me now. Grant me the sight to truely see if this is the power i seek to save my tribe, and if so, guide me to the rest of the Trio, that i may, in Your Name, carry the might, the light, and the power to defeat the foes of my tribe, your people...... &nbsp; &nbsp; -Thor Guide my Hammer as your own

Grubar Journal 7/14/2016 Morn sacrifice disturbed.... Elfling fool Grubar, lead into giants ambush... Stonemaw lost, but found and ordered to attack after Elfling follow Grubar.... No sense hiding, return to fight.... Wind Lords deserve big meal, guided arrows true to hearts.... Also brought Magic Birds to Aid Grubar... now to find Elfling and seek truth....

Paul W. said: Swargen Journal 7/19/2016 Thor, your guidance and wisdom are called upon by your faithful servant. I can not determine if this is the Hammer I seek. Your servant is baffled to find it in the hands of an Orc, such a lowly filthy creature should not be graced with such an artifact. To find it in ones hands seems a mockery of your might.I ask you to guide me, do i offer this item to a Temple in Your Name? Or do i believe, through Lore and seeing what it can do, that this IS the Hammer of Thor told of in Legend? I beg you, as you guide my prayers and arm and heart, Guide me now. Grant me the sight to truely see if this is the power i seek to save my tribe, and if so, guide me to the rest of the Trio, that i may, in Your Name, carry the might, the light, and the power to defeat the foes of my tribe, your people...... &nbsp; &nbsp; -Thor Guide my Hammer as your own THOR: YES its Mjolnir... Go forth and SMITE in my Name!

Victoriously Stupid My favorite part had been informing my party members that the person they thought they had killed was the king. It was so obvious that the fake king would be behind the HEAVILY REINFORCED DOOR. Things went VERY well for me, minus the gate incident. That Orc wizard held up his end of the bargain....Granted in the boring way of giving me scrolls. But these were useful in their own right, the spells I learned. We defeated the King, his honor guard proving no match for my command of the elements....Big surprise there. Even with all these things going so well, I still had one more large concern at the time that I had to tie up. Harlapin and the gate. However, under my brilliant mind I'm sure we'll get that done as well. I have already set up the plans, got together the great bodies that will help me. The biggest way to solve this is to kill Harlapin. If not that, sabotage the ritual to make the gate. At least, that's what I had thought at the time.

After last week's battle all I have to say is: Hail to the King baby...&nbsp;

Journal Notes 7/26 It was a dangerous task to say the least, but together we were able to defeat the king and his allies. Guzarl held up his end of the bargain and hopefully has earned the parties trust... or at least dismissed their distrust and put a rest to their conspiracies. It is amazing how vain some people are. Even as he teetered on the edge of life and death Harlepin still had time to pull out a mirror and straighten his stache. Perhaps he just wanted to look his best for the afterlife.

Rajhad Journal, Date Unknown (Found at Naughty Nymph) &nbsp; &nbsp; Challengers and Company,&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Our time together has been very trying. I have had many chances to experience the world, done things that no other Halfling would dream of. However, upon return to Portlandio, i must insist that i retire and do the things a Halfling would enjoy. I humbly request to be placed in charge of The Naughty Nymph, and maintain it in the absence of the owners Swargen and Torvald. It is an establishment worthy of any Halfling to run, And with the help of my "friends" it will continue to prosper, unhindered. In exchange for this honor, i offer my True Name, so if any mishap occurs, you can always find me. Thank you for the wonderful memories, and i look forward to your response and stories of future adventures. Veralyn Hairfoot

Translation: Krimba-Hai - Defeated - Honshar saved... Ota-Sura - Died well - Defending her town... Hearts heavy - We grieve her loss... Her legacy - Remembered... (Torvald engraved a small memorial stone in Honshar for Ota-Sura... The mystic who helped many find their way.)

Journal Notes 8/2 After quelling the threat at Krimba-Hai... at least for now... we finally made it back to Honshar. The journey back took much longer than anticipated... Teleportation seems to be a useful magic as time is a resource that one cannot simply buy. Not everyone lives as long as elves. Perhaps I shall begin practicing such magic.. although I know it to be a dangerous school with lots of potential to go wrong. Although we were successful in our mission we were informed of the sad passing of Ota Sura upon our return. Honshar is safe from the orcs for now... but without someone as powerful or wise as Ota Sura to protect it who knows what lies ahead. Her services were touching... countless people coming to pay their respect. Even though Torvald seems rough around the edges he once again shows his soft heart as he engraved her memorial stone.&nbsp; I was relieved to be reunited with Rhubarb. I had felt our connection weakening the longer I had stayed in my alternate form... so far away. But, now seeing him again it is as if we had never been separated to begin with. I bought him all the fruit at the inn... somehow he found room to eat it all.