dnd-kakaa-blog

[dnd-kakaa-blog]

Into the Underground and Back

Greetings friends!

Kakaa is back! We just came back from the more IMMENSE trip ever. I am so glad to be back in my nest bed. You see, it’s been a few days, but we finally arrived at Rocher, the Town dedicated to the god Torm. I can’t believe that there is a whole town dedicated to a god of all things. (Though my goddess will always reign supreme in my heart!) Everyone was wearing his colors and his symbol was EVERYWHERE (no seriously, are there any places in this world dedicated to Dol Arrah? I have to know- I haven’t met anyone else who was a follower other than that crazy kook in Barovia). This is the town where our friend Dain gave up his inheritance and swore himself to Torm. We were easily allowed inside, thanks him. We traveled for three days to get to Rocher from the village of Fererro. Nothing too notable happened, except for the tower incident ( ^__^). As we were leaving the village, we came upon a giant tower with its top missing. It looked to be only two stories high, but our friend Vermillion swore that it was bigger on the inside (Ha! As if I could believe that!). Some of them went exploring inside, while I landed on the top floor from flying on the outside. As all of us met on the top floor, the tower suddenly vanished! As well as the surface that we were standing on! Everyone was too surprised to land properly, but I managed to keep myself afloat in the nick of time! (Deception roll = 3). We had no idea what happened, or what had caused the tower to disappear, but it looks like it has completely disappeared from the vicinity. Vermillion was convinced that the tower belonged to Iedren, the elven arcane researcher who had taken a liking towards him. The problem was, the tower was originally stationed at Glaive, and was full of magical knick-knacks. This tower was completely empty and devoid of such items. Such a mystery indeed! Hopefully if we come across Iedren again, he will help us solve this conundrum. Back to Rocher, we settled ourselves in the inn. Dain reunited with his fellow friend and follower Nathaniel, a human who was saved by him. Apparently due to this, they eventually found their way to Rocher and thus started their journey as initiates of Torm. They left to do initiate stuff while the rest of us went around town. Friends Morkai and Darion left for the training grounds while the rest of us went to view the town’s wares. For some reason, our friend Sir Winston really wanted to buy a ruby worth 50 gold from this one jeweler, but she went along the lines of “I don’t want to take apart my goods, stop bothering me”. He then realized that the eyepatch over my head has a ruby worth 50 gold, and proceeded to badger me to give it to him (as if!). If there is one thing about myself, it’s that nothing is more precious than my shinies. THEY’RE PRICELESS I SAY. And as soon as we finally reach our keep, I will decorate my new nest with all of them! Back to the rest of the group, we were having a hard time buying things such as armor and weapons, because you have to be a “devotee” to access them. From what I know, it is a class higher than “initiate”, and you have to pass a test to attain the title. You even get a red band around your arm to represent your status! (They look so cool!) In the end, there is no one who is closer to getting those items than Dain *human sadface*

We wanted to leave the next day, but Dain came back and said he had unfinished business that he needed to attend to. So we agreed to stay one more day. Morkai and Darion came back satisfied with their training. Sir Winston and Vermillion mentioned that they met an interesting human wizard at the tavern who was here to meet with someone in the forest next to Rocher. Before heading in for the night, Daisy, Cerulean and I went to the butcher shop to find fresh meat for Nova, Cerulean’s panther (I never had panther before). We left after making a deal with the butcher to give us a live pig for Nova, but we had to pick it up the next day (lucky girl, this will definitely fatten her up for the big feast).

The next day, we stayed at the inn and waited for Dain to come back. And sure enough, he came back…with a red band! Our boy is a DEVOTEE! Congrats to him in becoming closer to his god! (we may have different faiths, but I can respect someone who dedicates themselves to the Light). Anyways, Dain had a vision from his god that there was a great danger at the base of a cliff in the forest, and that his mission from Torm was to investigate that area. As a group, we headed to the forest. Before we left, we picked up the pig from the butcher and wrapped a leash around it. When we got to the entrance of the forest, we did not see any cliffs, so we headed deeper. Cerulean let the pig go so that Nova could work for her food as it runs away. If only it actually worked because that pig ran a few feet before keeling over from exhaustion (in our defense, it was a REALLY tubby pig). It was an easy meal for Nova I guess. Darion did not appreciate our efforts though (Cruel he says! though I am surprised because as a bird of prey I hunt in the same fashion, he should be used to it by now :P). On the way to the cliff, we encountered a few bears, but we took them out easily. Got a few pelts and slabs of meat out of them too! (We shall have a great feast indeed!).Finally, we made it to the cliff base. Sir Winston, with his very perceptive ears, heard voices coming from the wall and looked around. Lo and behold, he was able to poke his head into the face of the cliff! It was an illusion! To our dismay, we found an interesting group: a pack of kobolds, a troll, and a few bulettes all congregated within this secret cave. The kobold was forcing one of the bulette to break a magical looking door all the way at the end. These kobolds weren’t your ordinary ones from what we noticed. They all had a single green scale adorned to their bodies like an emblem, and the area around the scale was a greener color. They were all larger than usual kobold, and the largest ones seem to be more green. It’s as if they are absorbing some sort of power from the scales. They were not aware of our presence, so we thought of a game plan to take them out. Since the opening was small, we planned on funneling them outside, making it easier for us to take them out. Dain was our lucky winner and caught their attention. It was a long battle because these kobolds were definitely stronger and more durable than they were supposed to be, and the troll’s sinewy muscles seemed to keep regenerating after our killing blows (it was very disgusting). The bulettes’ metallic armor was also a powerful barrier against our attacks. I didn’t know why at the time , but apparently my fire magic ended up burning the troll to dust after one minor blow (I learned later on that only fire or acid can kill a troll. That’s pretty awesome considering that I am the only one in the group capable of casting fire…I think. I’m such a special bird :) ). Long story short, we managed to defeat the monsters and went inside the cave. The magical door was huge! And pretty looking too (they had runes around it), but unfortunately, we were not able to decipher its meaning. There was a slot on the side; I’m pretty sure if we placed something in it, the door would open. Then again, I am not a smart bird, so who knows what sort of magical voodoo rituals we have to do to open this door. There was an opening on the right of us, and it seemed purposely made (by the bulette?). Curiosity got to us as we voted to go into the tunnel to see where it went. As we headed down, Dain, Cerulean, and Sir Winston talked to us about the kobolds we just defeated. Apparently this was not the first time they encountered the likes of them. The first time was at Dain’s hometown – Kor’Valkrai, a major city up north. It also snows there from what they told me. I have never experienced snow, so I hope one day I can visit this majestic white wonderland. (It is cold, white, and icy. The description boggles me). The kobolds with their bulettes were attacking some of their mines, but their group was able to fend them off (but not until after some of them got cursed with “the ugly”. How ugly can these featherless beings get? It must have been horrifying). Even then, they had no idea why they attacked, or what the purpose of the scales were. So as we were going down, I realized how “down” we were descending. I’m a giant bird. I’m from the Plane of Air. I’m basically in the sky almost 24/7. Going down into the earth where there is barely any space for my wings scared me a lot, and it takes a lot for me to admit that I was afraid. I’m not sure if the others noticed, but my knees were quivering. We came across a wide cavern; it had a stone path that overlooked some water from a few feet below. We started investigating the area, and as Sir Winston looked over the edge, he suddenly fell over into the water. Vermillion jumped down to save him, and as he did so, a giant mass of mouths and eyes went and attacked him! While this was happening, a few more tentacle creatures, posing as stalactites, fell from above in a preemptive attack. Daisy had the misfortune of getting one to the face, but we managed to get it off. (I like to point out that Darion and I finally got to use our awesome combo against one of the beasts! It’s the one where I grab him from the legs, and he swings his sword back and forth while we fly). We learned later that they were darkmantles, and the one below the stone path was a gibbering mouther. They are creatures of the Underdark. This was not good. Did we actually find ourselves in the Underdark? After our scuffle with those odd creatures (and luckily we did not encounter more of them!), we found a small opening on the side of a wall where we could rest up a bit. It was then that we started talking about where this path would take us and why we were still following it. As we rested up, I prayed a bit to my Goddess for courage. By some divine intervention, my amulet started to glow, but I did not get the feeling of reassurance that I was expecting. No, I felt dread and danger. Wherever we were heading towards, we were not ready for it, and it did not bode well for us.

I kept it to myself as we continued along this tunnel, wanting to be brave for the others. The next giant opening we came across had multiple holes along the walls and ceiling. That was not a good sign. I am not a smart bird, but obviously this was something’s home and we would be vulnerable if we were to traverse through this area. Morkai, the great tactician he was, suggested we huddled into a group and kept our backs against each other’s. This is to ensure that we would have sight of all directions. It was a good strategy, but we were not prepared for the creatures that came after us. Darion called them “rust monsters” as these giant, bug-like monsters started crawling out of their holes. We understood why they were called that as we found that they had this strange ability to erase metal with their feelers. Many lost parts of their armor. Some lost pieces of their weapons. (I lost a whole stack of bolts *human sad face* THEY WERE EXPENSIVE).

We came out of that area alive, but our equipment was not looking that great. We questioned again why we were continuing our trek, especially since most of us were not comfortable with the loss of their gear. Maybe we would find the answers behind the kobolds? Or the mysterious door? Or even Dain’s vision? Many of us were unsure, but we kept going forward.  

At long last, we found ourselves at a dead end. Well, not necessarily so, but we came to a room that was divided by a chasm, and beyond it lay darkness. There was a broken bridge between the gap that only had a single rope attached to each side. There was also a small path at the side of the room, but the ground looked cracked and unstable. We threw a torch all the way to the other side of the darkness to find a caved in entrance…and a dead bulette (THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN). Even though we saw this, we went ahead and started balancing along the rope to the other side, Morkai was the first to go, then Darion. As soon as our Gnomish friend reached the end, my amulet started glowing once more. Though this time it felt like it went ablaze with fervor. It was like an alarm resounding through my very being. My goddess rarely gives me any signs, but if there was any time to do so, it was now. Danger lied ahead. Whatever it was, it was related to the darkness that my Goddess was warning me about. Despite this knowledge, I knew at this point- WE WERE NOT READY. WE WERE GOING TO DIE. Sir Winston started calling for them; apparently he also received some sign of danger from whatever he worships. I cried for them to come back- I don’t want anymore of my friends to die. It’s too soon. Please! Morkai and Darion agreed and started heading back. Darion arrived first, and just as when Morkai reached the middle of the rope, Danger came. Two enormous beings came up from the ground in a hostile fashion. Darion, with his vast knowledge of monsters, knew what they were- Umberhulks. They felt…odd? Bizarre? Something felt off when you looked at them. Anyways, Morkai was trapped on the rope, and the rope did break, but luckily he was attached to another rope from both ends, so he ended up hanging in the middle of the chasm. We had to do some quick thinking, because the Umberhulks were heading towards us. I had no choice but to cut one end of the rope so that he swung towards our side. Darion, Dain, Daisy, Cerulean, and Sir Winston were pulling him up, but something about the Umberhulk’s presence unsettled everyone. All of a sudden, Darion let go of the rope and started swinging at the others. We had to stop him as well as keep holding onto the rope. The Umberhulks had some weird magic that messed with your head if you looked at them, says Darion. This was bad- how can we fight these things if we can’t even look at them? Once Morkai was up, we started running, but not before the Umberhulks appeared on our side, coming out from the walls as if it was water. We ran. We ran, ran, RAN. I’ve never been so afraid in my life (the closest was when Strahd almost wiped out our whole party after we saved the wereraven. However this time, we do not have a powerful sorcerer to save us). We later learned that Nova did not make it out, as she fell prey to the beasts (I am so sorry Cerulean, I can still remember the tears in your eyes). At one point, we had to climb a ladder, but Darion’s dog could not climb up. He screamed for me to carry him, but he seemingly intense distrust towards me delayed us (I still have the bite marks! Ow!). We had Sir Winston to pick Doge up in the end, but by then the Umberhulks had caught up. Morkai stayed in the back to cause some cave-ins to block their path. As he did so, the cave-in headed towards us, so we ran even faster. Back to the rust monsters, back to the rest stop, we kept going for hours, and it was taking its toll on our bodies (we spent a long time just walking down, so running back was torture). In the room with the tentacle monsters, I had the misfortune of having one of those creatures get a preemptive attack on my face (THEY ARE NOT TASTY!). We ended that quick as we ran, and ran, and ran…. Finally we made it back to the surface, and it looked like the umberhulks did not follow us. Not wanting to stay much longer, we headed back to Rocher where we immediately KO’ed in our rooms. And here I write to you, my journal, about everything that has happened up to that point. I will try to sleep, and hopefully, forget the horrors of the underground. Hello again!

We’re back in our rooms in Rocher! I do not know how we survived the events from yesterday, but I feel that we can all agree that the party does not need to explore and investigate every nook and cranny in the world. Let’s see… our dear Cerulean has her cat friend with her again! We all thought that Nova fell to the umberhulks, but apparently Cerulean’s bond with her companion is even more powerful than death itself! (though I have to wonder if she is able to do this all the time, you see people tend to get hungry….) Anyways, some of us decided to head back to the cavern just to inspect the door again. As we looked around for clues, Darion proceeded to perform a little gnomish ritual to sense…magic? Definitely one of those strange gnomish cultural things. Someone thought up of taking the metal from the bulette’s body and taking it back as precious material. After a few minutes of struggling to remove it, I thought of the great idea of using Sacred Flame to burn the organic parts, leaving only the metallic husk (pats for Kakaa, I’m so smart). We brought it back to the blacksmith and exchanged it for a HUGE sum of money. We took the time to fix our damaged equipment and buy some new gear (new shield! Though I’m really not feeling the Torm symbol, but oh well). While we were still doing errands, Sir Winston tried bargaining for my ruby eyepatch again. He would give me money or something equally shiny in return. As much as I would like to help a friend out and collect more shinies, I don’t think he realizes the significance behind this eyepatch. This was one of the first items that I looted in Barovia with my original team. Along with its superior shininess, it also holds sentimental value. It is a reminder of the friends that have left and will probably not see ever again. My mission comes with leaving many loved ones and friends behind, so it’s nice to have these items to remember them by. In the end, I traded some of my other shiny gems in order to help him get his ruby. (Though he is a fool if he thinks it’ll ever beat my eyepatch!) Now the big question came to mind: should we continue walking to Kor’diovere, or should we use our newly gained wealth to buy a horse and cart for easier traveling? I feel that we will talk about it for hours, so I will stop here for now until we reached an agreement. See you next time!

[dnd-kakaa-blog]

The Battle of Fererro and the Orange Stuff Incident

Haha! Kakaa here again!

We are currently traveling from the village of Ferrero! We had such an exciting day yesterday! All I could say is that we did good in the name of my Goddess! People were saved, and almost no one died (no one that mattered)! You see, in Barovia people died all the time despite our efforts. It was really discouraging. So this was a nice change of pace.

From our current location in the forest, Dain told us that we had two possible paths we could take on our way to Kor’Diovere. The first one was a shorter route that took us to the town where he swore himself to Torm. The other one took us along the coast, but it would be a few days longer to get to our destination. It made sense that we took the shorter route.

It took us a day and a half to get through the forest. Nothing interesting happened during that time. Daisy was trying her best to find unique and rare flowers, but I don’t think she did a good job (sorry Daisy, I cannot tell the difference between these plants). Its hard trying to bond with this new group, because it only feels like yesterday that we were traveling with Yang and Xin (in fact it was actually just yesterday. We saw them get stabbed several times before the portal closed. It was very traumatizing).

Before we could reach the first village, Ferrero, we found ourselves in front of a bridge. This bridge was guarded by a hill giant named Tug-Lug who wanted our money before letting us pass. Darion, Vermillion and I had a little moment with each other (This was nothing!). We ended up fighting the giant and easily overcoming it and its goblin lackeys that appeared from the sidelines. I have to admit, our new allies definitely know how to fight (this is very reassuring because I really don’t want anyone else to die any time soon).

The village chief, Lawrence Oberdon, was surprised to find out that we took care of the giant. Apparently, they haven’t had any trade coming in from that side due to the monster (I am glad that we were able to help! Pats for Kakaa!). He rewarded us with gold, and allowed us to stay at the Tavern, but he seemed like he regretted offering it right after he did it (interesting, interesting!). I am not a smart bird, but it takes a dummy to miss that something is up.

The tavern was owned by Kenneth Stilk, a gnome who was very pleased to see that we had another one of his kind traveling with us. He gave us a warm meal and rooms for us to stay in for the night (it was much cheaper here than Barovia, I felt that there was much “inflation” going on in that world). I spent the rest of the day perched on top of the tavern admiring the view. I believe Sir Winston was trying to cut his hair, but faied miserably. Mor Kai tried to help as well, but he ended up breaking the shears that they borrowed from that poor half-orc woman (this is why feathers are superior, we do not need to “trim”). Before going to bed, I went hunting for a bit. I found a family of foxes. Needless to say, they were easy but filling prey.

We woke up in the middle of the night to some screaming. We attempted to go outside, but Stilk prevented us from exiting (he was breathing really fast, and his eyes were bugging out. I swear I saw some orange powder coating his upper lip). Dain really wanted to leave, but when he tried to grab the gnome, Stilk started freaking out and took out our man (not really, but he was pretty strong for a little guy). Darion tried to get at him as well, but Stilk, in his panicked state, shoved some more of that orange powder up our friend’s nose. I don’t know what that was, but Darion STARTED FREAKING OUT (we all learned a lesson that day to not mess with a gnome on that orange stuff). Stilk told us to not leave because there were a group of bandits that were always coming in to collect money. If they were to see us, they would assume that the village hired us to deal with them.

Well, from the tavern window, we saw some people confronting the village chief. They had a woman on them (I think she was a resident?). Something about Lawrence owing them some money (protection fees?). He did not have the money, and it was at that moment that we realized that the money he was supposed to give them was actually given to us as a reward for taking care of that giant (oh how fates play us!). The leader of that group of thugs, Captain Slackjaw, was not having it as he slapped Oberdon and ordered his men to take his daughter as compensation for making them wait. At this time, Darion finally came out of the Tavern and offered the men 80 gold in Lawrence’s stead (such a good guy. Quiet gnome but all of the things he has done with us were always so kind. I kind of felt bad that I pretty much let him die and come back possessed by a demon in that house of death). Slackjaw took the money, spat on him (to which Darion only replied with a meek thanks) and proceeded to tell the men to let the daughter go. However, they started to walk away with the first woman. Darion screamed and pleaded to let her go, but Slackjaw replied by saying that this is for making them wait. Well, our group wasn’t having any of that, and we went in for blood!

All of our efforts were prioritized on saving the woman (who died almost because she got her throat slit once, but with the help of my Goddess, my healing song was able to stabilize her). Darion was the star of our show; leaving his sword at the tavern, he used his Minor Booties of Haste (because his feet were too small for real boots) to grab it mid-drift, and continued sliding as he darted towards an enemy and whirlwind slashed him into pieces (if I wasn’t so impressed, I probably would have thrown up!). I swear it was the orange stuff that was making him go bonkers, but whatever it was, it really helped him during that fight.

At the end of the battle, we let one man live in order to tell us if he had more people with them and to see where the location of their camp was. We wanted to make sure he wasn’t lying about their base, and he promised us loot! (I love loot!). In exchange for his life, we told him he would lead us there in the morning. I heard that Vermillion did not let this man get a good night’s sleep at all as he kept poking him awake (typical Vermillion). Unfortunately, we found that the first woman’s husband was killed when the bandits took her. We couldn’t do much because they had their own burial traditions. I left a piece of jewelry in the house so that she would have at least something to support herself for a while (I usually do not part with my shinies, but I felt that at that moment, it was the right thing to do. Pats for Kakaa).

In the morning, the bandit lead us to his camp. Before we went, Lawrence came up to us; the townspeople pooled in some money to give as a reward. However, we denied it, stating that whatever is at the camp would be alright for us. True enough, there were no people at their base, and we took whatever is of value for ourselves. We let the man go, making he swear that he would not cause anymore trouble for these people.

Seeing that our job was done here, we continued on our journey north towards Kor’Diovere.

Cheers, Kakaa

[dnd-kakaa-blog]

After Death House. Three people were knocked out, one died and came back possessed by a demon. And the other saved all of us through the power of ale. The other two original members of this group had to leave, as they were summoned by the Champion of Habbakuk, a rat named Goldfish, and its transportation device, Punchy the Hobo, to help save the world. This was only the start of our nightmare. Why didn’t they take us with them? Was it the eyes? I can’t help that they look in two different directions- I’m a bird.

[dnd-kakaa-blog]

Introductions are in order...

Salutations everyone! My name is Kakaa, or as I say it in my culture - KAKAAAAAAAA! It’s not hard to pronounce, but no one within this plane has successfully done so yet. It’s been exactly one or three years for me since my goddess, Dol Arrah, has sent me on this mission (I’ll explain later). I think it’s long overdue to keep a journal of our adventures to keep track of my sanity.  I really don’t know where to begin. Should I start at the moment I entered this plane? When I met my first group of adventuring friends? Glaive? Barovia?  No, I think I’ll keep it simple to when I returned to this plane after leaving Barovia with the help of a well-versed arcane practitioner of sorts. You see, some fog swept us away on our way to Kor’Diovere and we spent the past two weeks running away from this vampire named Strahd. I didn’t really understand what was happening the entire time, but apparently he did not want us there, yet at the same time he did not want us to leave. It was very confusing. Make up your mind. 

Anyways, with the help of Lucius, a man we saved in Barovia who was actually not from there as well, we were able to perform a ritual to open a portal and escape Barovia. Unfortunately, Strahd tried to escape with us, but was thwarted through the sacrifices of our friends *sobs* Yang and Xin. May their souls find everlasting peace with the light. Back to the main story, we ended up back at the same exact spot where we left and was met by Larry, the leader of a guild who originally sent us to Kor’Dievere, and his new hirelings (I hope he wasn’t trying to replace me, I kinda like him. I didn’t see any other bird person, so I’m assuming I’m still his #1 bird in the group). It was a surprise to find out that our two weeks in Barovia was actually two years in this world.  Before we could get any other explanation, our good friend Lucius started getting yelled at by Larry- something about avenging the old “Knights of Sovereignty” (I thought it was called the Swords of Sovereignty, are we knights or swords? I’m very confused). Well, Lucius wasn’t having any of that, and decided to, well, back-stab everyone. We were paralyzed and drained of our powers while Lucius and Larry disappeared mid-encounter. I hope Larry is okay, he seemed very stressed out during that talk. I’m sure he’s fine.  Well, we were left with Larry’s new group (AGAIN there are no other bird people in this group, so my place is secure, thank Dol Arrah). Our changling friend Rengarl and Rictavio (two allies who escaped with us) decided to try to track down Larry and Lucius. We were told to head towards our supposed “keep” (nest?) in Kor’Dievere, and expect to see them within the next few months.  Sooooo yeah. What was left of our original group is Vermillion, our rude elven blade-wielder, and Darion, our gnomish little friend from the land of G’nomm who also wields a blade, though it’s twice his size. Our good buddy Vermillion was reunited with his walking mirror whose name is Cerulean (she is nicer and smells nice). I am very glad that they are together again. I think Vermillion was very happy as well. It may be hard to see under all that “edge”, as Xin used to say, but you can just tell. Darion’s snack has made it as well, his dog “Doge”. I am glad, as I have been fattening him for the past month and a half. He will make a fine meal once we reach Kor’Dievere (I will ask the gnome on how he prefers his seasoning, he seems to have a weird affinity for spice).  Oh, I should mention the rest of the group that we just met. There is Dain, a half-orc paladin of Torm (good man, but beware of his glove as he slaps people with it at a moment’s notice), Sir Winston, a holy knight of the light who was freed of his cursed helmet and can now eat solid foods (and something about a red flower. I don’t know, is it a delicacy? Can I season the dog with it?), and Mor Kai, this seasoned warrior who is always talking about hiring new friends (what does that make us? :( I would frown if I could, as is custom to these lands to display despair, sadness, or disheartenment). Daisy is one of my favorites in the bunch, as she is a walking shiny Dragonborn who only wants to collect flowers (seriously, are they edible? Can they be use in conjunction with the dog? I am not a smart bird.)  I really don’t know what our goals are at this point (I guess to find Larry?), but I think we are going to heed Rengarl’s words and head back to the keep. I apologize for all of the questionings. I am not a smart bird, and I just recently came to this plane a year before our mishaps in Barovia. So technically it’s been three years (Does that mean I aged two weeks or two years since Barovia?) The culture here is weird and it will take a lot to get used to, but hopefully my new group of friends will help me out on the way. Cheers, Kakaa

[dnd-kakaa-blog]

Kakaa - the Aarakocra Cleric of Light. Final draft a month after my first one!

[dnd-kakaa-blog]

Kakaa - the Aarakocra Cleric of Light. First Draft!