555/1/45. This
morning we reached the city of Kora by the Bay. My Da once told me a
story of when he was stationed in Kora, and I'd always dreamed that
it's crystal minarets and soaring arches would be the grandest sight to
behold. Now that I had finally arrived at Kora, I realized that my
childhood imaginations paled in comparison to reality.
Towering crystalline structures groped for the brilliantly blue sky.
Between those skyscrapers delicately thin catwalks crisscrossed in the
air, like thin strands of spiderweb lazily woven over the city. Massive
city walls, broken only by the four great gates and the Kuu river
running, sorrounded Kora in their warm embrace. On those walls, carved
murals depicted epic scenes from our history, heroic battles and
majestic events.
Tok, Tev and I went alone into Kora, to sell our copper and buy some
armor, Tev almost salivating at the thought of a mail surcoat to cover
his sausage shaped body. Nakaro, Timroth, and Krelga would meet us on
the other side in a couple of days.
We were still being pursued by Tanarek Dell, but apparently we have
allies in our pursuer's camp. Their lead tracker helped us, leading
them astray as often as he dared, so even with our relatively slow
travelling speed we managed to stay ahead of them. Fortunately, we
bought a small wagon in a village, making it easier to carry the copper
so it didn't slow us down much.
Once in Kora I could only marvel at the spotless streets, the happy
people, the many stores and bazaars, the crisp precision of a passing
military squad. Truly a city of splendor and wonder. I almost felt
dirty coming here, skulking about with two of my traitorous barbarian
companions. I squelched my morose thoughts, trying to take comfort in
the righteousness of my mission. But here, in one of the pillars of
civilization, that was small comfort indeed.
First priority was to purchase some rations. We don't have any great
hunters in our group and there have been times that our provisions have
gotten dangerously low. In fact, we ran out of provisions the morning
we sighted the spires of Kora, and if not for a chance encounter with a
herd of Higvul we would have been hungry that last day and a half.
After the provisions, we found a small smithy and Tok proceeded to
haggle for armor. I've learned to stop paying attention to Tok's
negotiating style, which is, in my opinion, overly aggressive and
abusive. Sometimes I think that Tok was chosen for his quest just to
get him out of his homeland. He still managed to overspend our meagre
funds, even with selling our copper, so I had to lend him 7 silver.
Tok bought some armor for himself and Krelga, which was ready right
then. Tev's armor would not be ready for two days, much too long
because Tanarek Dell would surely be in Kora by then. But Tev insisted
that he'd be able to come back and retrieve his armor, so we bought it.
Tonight we get to sleep at an inn. Then tomorrow we make our way across
the Kuu to meet up with the rest of our group. It seems like the last
time I slept in a real bed was a lifetime ago.
555/1/48. Our trip continues north. Up the Kuu river, along its eastern
bank. Tev is still sulking after what happened in Kora, when he
couldn't get his armor, as a military squad got to the smith first.
It's all for the best. Armor would only make him more reckless than he
already is. We have enough warriors, not enough scouts.
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After Kora I
once again advised heading east. Although we would still be in the
Empire, it would put us in another military region, and it was my hope
that Tanarek Dell would not pursue us there. But they cited their
riddle, which spoke of a the head of a great river. Since we were at
the tail of the mighty Kuu, our obvious next move was to find its
source.
It had been an uneventful day of travel. Krelga led the way and I tried
to coax her to talk to me. I had to know if my dreams were true. But
she didn't seem to comprehend dreams and auras. Perhaps I am wrong
about her and I've interpreted the dreams wrongly.
We passed an old Ice Temple, now haunted, or so we were told back in
Kora. Although I would have liked to liberate it from the Chaos
monsters inhabiting it, I knew that the others would take the
opportunity to desecrate it even more than it was now. So I cautioned
against it. But we still encountered one of the Ice Temple's denizens.
An Araz Taro, or ice demon, quite dangerous. Its freezing touch almost
laid Krelga low before we killed it.
555/1/53. Today we fought a most unusual Chaos creature. I was up in
the vanguard with Krelga. I sometimes forget just how fast her natural
stride is, because she curtails it so I can keep up, so that when she
suddenly looked at a small mound and started charging towards it I was
quickly left behind. Tev came running up, also beguiled by the mound,
and sped ahead while the rest of us ran after the two.
The mound was actually some sort of giant creature. It somehow charmed
our two compatriots and they stood there as it chomped on them. Tok,
Timroth and I struck at the creature with pike, trident, and polaxe
while Nakaro shot at it with a bow. But our blows seemed to do no harm,
until finally Tok dealt it a mortal wound.
Krelga later said that she saw the most delicious carrot there, which
danced around as she tried to catch it and eat it. Tev too saw an
illusion, in his case it was an irresitable hunk of steak with a
captivating aroma. As for the creature, we left it where it was.
Although once again our provisions are starting to run low, none of us
want to chance eating Chaos meat.
555/1/56. Once again our food was gone. Our meager attempts at
foraging, fishing, and hunting produced nothing except embarrasment at
our ineptitude. Luckily, we did reach a large village. But with no
money with which to buy provisions, it looked like our only option,
enthusiastically endorse by Tev, was to go in and kill them all.
For some reason, that's not what the rest of us had signed up for. So
once again Tev went in and tried to look for some sort of job we could
do in exchange for food. What he agreed was at once easy and yet a bit
disturbing: 25 silver for Krelga to fight their guard Gabter in a pit.
Krelga had no problem with it, and we did need the money, so it was
done.
It is fortunate that Krelga had armor, for the other Gabter had
ferocity and skill on her side. For some reason Tev wanted to recruit
the other Gabter, and with her on our side we could destroy the
village, kill every man, woman, and child, and raze it to the ground.
The rest of us could only look on at our dog in horror, and when in the
next minute he started going on and on about some gravy he just had to
have, we all realized that he was completely insane.
I'm not sure what we'll do with Tev. He's part of our group, a proven
battle companion. But he is becoming more and more erratic, threatening
to turn into a liability. We have turned North-eastwards, following the
rumors of some sort of hermit healer to be found in that direction. Our
hope is that Tev can be helped, before it is too late.
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