Sindri Janisson

Entry #489

Today was very hectic and is only going to get worse. We awoke and discussed the events of the prior day, my sister and Jurgin telling Ragna and I about the person they had assisted. Whoever this Maximus person was, he was nowhere to be found. I’m fairly certain they just got drunk and made it all up.

A messenger approached us then and gave us tickets to an event in the arena, one where Dagoth’s champion would be fighting. We started to leave but found ourselves sidetracked by someone waiting outside to meet with us. I went off with them and the rest followed. It appeared mine and Ragna’s efforts yesterday to locate the mage group worked as we met with an emissary of the group. They seemed to like the idea of working with the legion and asked as proof of the bargain that the four of us acquire a crate from a ship later that day for them of black onyx rocks.

We agreed and the children of blood gave us a fellow to accompany us with all the information we would need, a bard.

We went to the arena then and I attempted to do some shopping. The shops had outrageous prices and I told them such then stormed out to go get ready to watch the match we had been invited to. What a match it was. This Wintercold fellow who is Dagoth’s champion appears to be a boy of 15, maybe younger. He proceeded to win this match that was to be to the death without killing a single person.

I applaud him. Why should we kill when we are so young? It does us no good.

We were walking back to the inn when the rest of the group told me they were going to go meet with some lord lars. I did not pay much attention to what was going on until for whatever reason this person wanted to kill us. Apparently the Dagoth fellow has been making waves and the lords part of the legion think he will try to take over the legion at some point and wanted our assistance. We talked our way out of the confrontation though someone did take a swing at me and completely missed. This lord lars fellow was apparently the opponent we had in the first match of our arena tournament.

While walking back to the inn once again, Ragna stopped the group to go back to the arena for some reason then got shot by someone. We all pursued and had a confrontation in an alleyway with some gang of people. I acquired quite a few bruises but we managed to beat off the group bit by bit. The only casualty was one of them and they were killed by their own side due to a fire spell.

We took one captive and were in the process of starting an interrogation when Sylvi noticed the guards were nearby so we left the captive in a barrel tied up and upside down. We went to a completely different inn, one by the docks called the Pheasant’s Bunghole, at the insistence of the bard to wait for nightfall.

This mission will be fun as so far as I can tell we have only Sylvi as a stealthy person and some very poor liars in the group.

Rumbles in the Deep

It was the twelfth day.

Even the templar accompanying them was tired.

He flinched as the tapping started up again, the spirits in the deep roads trying to lead them who knows where. If someone had told him about the number of dead down here, the number of blighted that he would have to face, he would have balked.

But none had and so he had gone on the expedition. Wealth beyond measure had been promised what with the blight just having been finished. The first three days had delivered, the convoy stumbling upon many unlooted caches. After that though, some had gone back to the surface. More continued so he went with them.

Problems arose then, that night, if it was that time for he could not tell. A demon of greed, the templar and mage had declared it to be, took possession of someone and wrecked havoc. Supplies were lost, riches destroyed, the convoy scattered in the madness.

He should have stayed on the surface. How he yearned for the feel of sunshine once more. He blinked, the party was slowing, a split in the tunnels up ahead and then there were screams. No one could tell from which way they came. They ended before a decision could be made. A coin was flipped and the path set by those brave enough to lead.

The tapping ended.

Someone ran, other followed, the templar charged, some followed, the mage’s staff shined in the darkness, he cowered as the demons washed over the group, easily felling those who had ran, howling all the while.

He felt something touch him and he shrieked, flailing at the encroaching darkness.

He just wanted to feel sunlight again.

And then there was a voice, a voice most glorious whispering in his ear and he felt it, the sun on his skin. He cried for he was free then he felt metal on his hand and he was wrenched up, the templar standing before him now, a convulsing demon at his feet.

He staggered for a few steps then found his footing as he ran once more behind the templar. The rest were fallen and he could hear tapping again. But it was no longer following them.

It was the fourteenth day.

The templar stumbled again, his complaints about some unending song being much the same as whatever song he was hearing. He could hear nothing except their footsteps. Nothing seemed to move in the darkness here, nothing at least that he could hear. He shivered, there were no more lava gatherings anymore. He wondered if out of all the things he had seen down here the cold would be the one to kill him.

There were worse ways to go he supposed and then the templar stopped. The sound of rocks moving echoed through the tunnel. A crumbling and a creaking, as if someone was opening a door.

He glanced at the templar, wondering what to do. The templar grunted then advanced, sword ready for whatever laid ahead. A rock crashed against his shield soon and he staggered back, and then more rocks lashed out, as if the earth itself hated them. The templar collapsed, a torrent of rocks flying at him and then he ran once more, abandoning the templar to his fate.

It was the seventeenth day.

He could not remember when he had last eaten. He was crawling now, no destination in sight, just crawling.

The tapping started again and he started crying though he was not certain whether it was from terror or relief that it would be over soon. It grew closer and then he could hear the spirits again.

He wished he could have felt sunlight again.

Sindri Janisson

Entry # 487

I find myself traveling with my half sister for the first time, in the city of Jom. The Legion rules here, something which is making me a bit uneasy but the place is clearly civilized. We fought in the fighting pits for a few days in a tournament and actually won this team competition with the aid of a paladin, a fighter, and a rogue. The fighter is rather quiet, the rogue probably needs to lead around with a leash, and the paladin is rather amusing.

The fighter killed several people in the fights we participated in, something which made me a bit nervous but fortunately nobody tried the same on us. We even beat a legion squad to win the tournament!

We won the tournament in the name of someone called Blood Captain Dagoth. Hopefully this deal works out. I have a nagging feeling we will be dragged into legion politics.

I fear I have also corrupted my half sister with proper baths. She is very much taken by them. I wonder if she will build one in the village at some point or if she will even go back.

Entry # 488

We met with this Blood Captain Dagoth and my suspicions were correct. We are indeed being drawn into Legion politics though it seems for some decent reasons. The paladin with us, Ragna, has lost a brother to an apparent conflict between nobles and commoners in the organization. Dagoth and his wife, Mary, gave us the name of the person who sponsored the team we fought against in the last match of the tournament as a good place to start but I am hesitant to agree it was him. That would be very convenient for Dagoth to have a rival go missing. Further investigation will be needed.

Anyways, Dagoth asked us with assistance in a small matter of securing spellcasters for the legion. Apparently he was quite taken with my performance and how it pointed out the flaw that the legion has with a lack of spellcasters to fill ranks. It seems a worthwhile goal, provided Dagoth continues to like us which is rather unlikely to continue forever.

Should probably draw up plans to kill him as well for when that happens.

We acquired a bag of holding for storage for the group as well.

Sylvi thinks Dagoth might be a good option for getting items back to the village. I think it is a reasonable choice though I do wonder what might happen to the village should we displease Dagosh. I doubt it would be very pleasant.

A woman also approached us for assistance with freeing a fighter from Dagoth’s service. At least I think that is what she asked for. Assistance in finding this person maybe? To be honest I don’t really care and have little interest in going against Dagoth.

All is well for now though.

World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Accomplishments

This is a fascinating book about a game designed to bring about World Peace. The author developed the game over several decades and it does appear to be a fascinating one, forcing people to work together to solve fifty different issues that all interlock with each other all while making sure that everyone finishes the game in a better economic state than when they started. Meanwhile, there is someone in the game attempting to further the chaos present by whatever means they judge necessary.

According to the author there has never been a failed game by the participants that he has overseen but then he does the game with students deemed gifted so perhaps that is why. Throughout the book he provides accounts of very memorable games that were played and the one that I enjoy the most is the one time where one of the children almost becomes the first person to ever win the game by themselves before being struck down by one of the shortest, quietest kidos in the classroom to his great surprise.

There is a documentary mentioned by the writer about the game but I have not seen it yet. By all accounts it must be good as the movie along with the book got one of the writer’s classes a trip to the Pentagon. I rather hope I can play the game someday.

I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants a boost in optimism for general life and humanity’s ability to solve the world’s problems.

Bayou Chicken

Bayou Chicken

This recipe comes from the I don’t know how to cook book. I recommend that you only make this one if you enjoy spicy foods as it had quite the kick when cooking it for my nose and my mouth when eating it.

To make from the book recipe with some modifications you will need

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and pepper

½ cup milk

6 tablespoons butter

3 chicken breasts

To start make sure you have the chicken breasts thawed out and ready. After that mix together the paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder and ground cumin in a bowl. If you want to do it, you could add ¾ teaspoon garlic powder as well but it tasted fine without it when I made it. Next pour the milk in another bowl and dip the chicken into the milk.

Use 3 tablespoons of the butter on a large frying pan and after they are melted place the chicken on the pan. Make sure you use medium heat! Sprinkle the chicken with about half the spices then. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes then I recommend flipping them and covering the other half with what is left of the spices. You should also put in the rest of the butter so the chicken doesn’t burn and ruin your pan.

Let it cook for another 20 to 25 minutes and you will have some excellent tasting chicken! I recommend you have something on hand to help deal with the heat when you eat it.

Garrick the Warrior

Our stay in Redhold is not the best one. The night we arrived the Thane held a feast in his longhouse and informed the group of us that there were a large number of darkspawn in the area that were heading towards the village sometime over the next three days. More importantly the village’s hunters were out on a expedition and were quite late. The Thane inquired for some help from us and we quickly accepted.

The darkspawn arrived the next night and the night has been long so far, we have fought off a wave of genlocks that appeared to be something designed to test the defenses. It was a bit difficult at times but then genlocks have never really been a problem. We decided to put together a contest to see who kills the most darkspawn. I think I’m in second right now but we’ll sort it all out when this siege is over. The second wave looks like it is starting now. Hurlocks this time. I must prepare.

The second wave went far better for us no doubt due to me. It was extremely painful to do but I was able to cast my explosion spell on four different hurlocks on the side of the wall that I was on surprisingly fast. The Maker was on my side that night it seems. Pierre appeared again and killed one of them and then the spell must have triggered an explosion in the others soon afterwards as the rest exploded a few seconds later. The elf and I went down most painfully. The side was cleared and the other side was cleared shortly after that mostly by that mage and Brakor. I spent a bit of time puking over the wall as I recovered from the explosions and then hoisted two more ladders away from the walls as the darkspawn retreated.

The Thane and the elf chatted about something then as I walked around patching others up around the place. It was quiet then for a little bit, about an hour before there was any movement in the woods. It appeared a Bereskarn was with the minor horde and they were going to throw it at the walls. It was quite obvious that it would be able to get through the walls and so the six of us moved from the walls to engage the massive beast. The way forward was quite easy and Brakor took down the bereskarn with a final blow by sliding underneath it and cutting it open. The Avvar of Redhold has accepted him as one of their own now.

We all took a bath and slept until sunrise with lots of relaxation when it appeared that the hunters who were missing returned. The Thane’s son who was leading them chatted with Brakor and gave us three hunters to guide us to the girl that we were hunting. It was a short trip higher into the Frostbacks and we followed the advice of one of the guides, having Brakor provoke Balan into a duel for the girl. It was over quickly as Brakor easily knocked Balan over the edge of the icy bridge that they were fighting on after several blows.

The girl was returned to us and she asked us to take her to Redhold. There was a group huddle over the matter and then we decided to do as she requested but asked for something with which we could prove that she was still alive to her father. After she gave us her sword we went on our way to Redhold and then back to the Arl’s winter manor. We handed him the sword along with a map to Redhold to confirm our story. He accepted it as such with a warning that if we were lying it would be unpleasant. He left us then and we were approached then by a Templar seeking aid from capable individuals which we clearly were in the matter of an apostate hunt. It would appear that his companions have not contacted him as they were supposed to several days ago and so he is looking for more assistance. The rest agreed and after we ate we went on our way with the Knight-Captain. How odd to be working with a templar.

Call of Cthulhu - Agent Solange

The way back was quite easy. The bus took us to the right place and we went to the basement in the library where the society appears to be based out of locally. The person there, whatever his name is, gave us some terrible rewards and tools for the next job. I got a riot shield for some reason, the soldier got a suit, and the thief got a molotov. All this for robbing a bank somewhere. Clearly we are working for a very poor secret society. It was agreed then by the three of us to wait a day for others to possibly arrive back at the campus and so we went to partake in frivolous things to pass the time.

That did not end well.

Once again, the thief got chased out of a restaurant despite there being people who could pay the bill and as I was quite drunk at the time called to Nyarlathotep for aid for some reason and he choose to respond.

In a spectacular manner of course.

Which killed a lot of people.

And wiped out half the town.

I think the thief has developed a healthy fear of planes now and it was quite clear the soldier did not take this incident well. The thief had given him his molotov and the soldier elected to throw it at me. Oddly, it did not hurt much to be set on fire. Perhaps the thickness of my clothes mitigated most of the damage or perhaps some higher power likes me. Regardless, I took off after that in my new owl form and went to the town where the bank was that we had to rob. I had serious doubts that any of the others will show up there.