Rosia Lightfoot's Journal - Part 9

Much has happened since my last entry! We have fought several battles, and been sorely tested. More darkmantles attacked us, but we made short work of them, despite them surprising us. We have found out that there is a network of small tunnels and fissures, high up in the walls, which the darkmantles are using to move around. We have been extra vigilant since we discovered this.

We tried to explore more of this dark dungeon, but we didn't get very far. In one long corridor we encountered a large darkmantle, which we thought was charging at us. However, it soon became apparent that it was fleeing from a large, fiendish creature which looked like a cross between and owl and a bear. This "Owlbear", as Isaak later told us it was called, attacked us (after Curbag had killed the wounded darkmantle) and we looked to be in bad shape for a while. The creature had some sort of resistance to wounds, my sling bullets and the arrows of the Kobolds seemed to just bounce off it, and the mighty blows which Curbag and Oren rained down upon it seemed to have less effect that usual. Quercus was knocked unconscious as the thing charged at us, and Curbag soon joined him as the Owlbear ran amok. Oren slew the beast, but we feared the worst for Curbag and Quercus. We decided to return to the room where Kahliss and Slith were holed up, to ask them for aid. The kobolds broke our alliance after hearing this. They seem to think we are taking too many risks... I can't say I'm sorry, the vile creatures have offered us little in the way of help, and I don't trust them to cover our backs when the going gets tough.

The lizardmen did indeed help us, though I think it was more to get rid of us than anything. We left them the next day and decided to rest for another day in the rooms where we found the water-pillars. We used this time to heal up and rest. Isaak spent some time in meditation, and after this I asked him to teach me how he worked his magic. He told me that the magic comes from within, and that it expresses itself differently for each person. He showed me some techniques to clarify the mind and bring forth the mystical energies, and I spent much time praticing them in the room of illusions and the room of silence. I can feel the magic awakening within me, I just need an opportunity to try it out. Unfortunately I have spent so much effort working on the magic, that I have had little chance to pratice my other skills. At least I have kept up with searching and disabling the many traps that have been set in this deadly place...

We explored some more after this period of rest: we decided to fill in some of the gaps in our map. This turned out to be a good tactic, as we discovered some magical potions under an old bed, which we believe to be healing drafts. These will be useful if Quercus is incapacitated again. We also found a room filled with orcs, and we discovered that this was the remains of the band led by Orgar. We decided to parlay with them, despite Quercus's best efforts to get us to kill them. We found out that Orgar had fallen into a great despair. Curbag tried to reason with him, but when this failed he challenged him for leadership of the band. They fought and although Curbag flew into a rage and struck many great blows, it was clear that Orgar would get the better of him. This would have been very bad for the rest of us as well, as we were split into two groups and surrounded by orcs. I suspect it was not strictly within the rules of the challenge, but I waited until no one was looking at me and shot my crossbow at Orgar, hitting him right between the ribs. This seemed to distract him somewhat, and Curbag used the opportunity to run him through with his sword. I think that one of the orcs spotted my bolt, but he declared Curbag the victor anyway. Perhaps the orcs were looking for a new leader, someone to get them out of this place. Let's hope he can get us out as well!