Oct. 7 - Once more racing across the hills, under the effects of Marathon
Prowess, we leave the Gaian sacred grove headed for Point D. We had to
stop at one point, when Robyn warned us of goblins riding worgs, but they
never noticed us.
Oct. 9 - Back in ogre territory. We spotted a pair of
sentries - much more alert than the ones Robyn previously encountered -
and gave them a wide berth.
Oct. 15 - (written in afterward)
I don't know how to begin. My head is fuzzy and I'm not even sure what
day it is. I wonder how much of the information we got I've forgotten?
But Decimus is laid out and washed and Tamara is hovering over him, and
I'll fall asleep waiting for Uncle if I don't occupy myself.
Let's see. We traveled from the Grove to Point D without serious
incident. We knew we were almost there when we spotted a patrol of five
humans led by an ogre, and hid from them. Decimus did aerial
reconnaissance and told us how far we were from the ogre village, general
layout. They were clearly well-organized, with a walled town, fields,
pastures, a lake on which several boats were fishing. The population was
color-coded, with the humans wearing green (soldiers), blue, gray, and
brown. A fine fieldstone building seemed to house the most important
ogres. The town had an interior wall, separating about a quarter of the
town from the rest, containing the stone building and apparently housing
most or all of the ogres.
We found a vantage point and camped cold. In the morning I cast a spell
to increase my charisma and Decimus located a shepherd boy, put him to
sleep, and brought him to me. I explained to him, generally, what we were
doing, explained about the Zone of Truth spell, and proceeded to question
him. He seemed like a nice boy, not perhaps especially enterprising or
bright. What was his name? I don't remember. I can't read the notes on
my wax tablet. But it's all for nothing if I can't remember the
information.
The humans are serfs (brown) and slaves (gray), with some possibility of
rising to better positions. The ogres protect them from the hostile
monsters on the island. The boy specifically has witnessed hobgoblin and
hill giant raids in his lifetime. His grasp of history was poor, but it
would seem that the town contains remnants of the aboriginal human
population, supplemented by captures and purchases from pirates and
halflings. Did I tell Alissa about them? I should. There is no temple
in the town, but some humans know about Orus. There are enough
discontented humans in the town to make the interior wall worthwhile, and
for the boy's father to have warned him not to talk about people wanting
to rebel; however, there was no indication that the humans are treated any
worse than the serfs and slaves of any other culture, so there is no
urgency about the Empire riding to their rescue.
What else? The boy answered all my questions freely. There are about a
dozen spellcasters in the village, including some humans and some
children.
The most powerful spell he mentioned their using was Cone of Cold.
During
the hill giant raid, the lich came out, but he thought it was a summoned
monster, not a permanent resident. The lich was able to disintegrate
giants.
Politics. The ogres have a war leader and a wizard leader. I'm having a
hard time reading their names. Nardak? The mage. Kardak? The general.
The war leader is subordinate to the wizard, who is credited with making
the settlement what it is today. If there is any exploitable friction
there, the boy is not aware of it. In addition to being assaulted by hill
giants and hobgoblins, the ogres raid pirates.
I cast "sumptuous feast" and gave the boy the meal of his life, in
reward. I told him it would probably not be a good idea to tell anyone
what had
happened to him, for the same reasons it was dangerous to talk about
humans who don't like the ogres being in charge; but I specifically did
not forbid him to tell his parents. I pointed out that there was a strong
possibility he wouldn't be believed, in any case. Then Decimus returned
him to his post, and we proceeded with the intention of making a circuit
of the valley so Robyn could map it properly. When we saw another patrol,
we hid.
It was my fault. I got tangled up in a vine, and jostled Decimus, and
when the patrol came up on us, I was under cover and he wasn't. Naturally
they accosted him. I don't remember the conversation. That part's a
complete blank in my mind. Only at some point it seemed to him like a
good idea to alter himself into a demonic shape, and the ogre attacked
him. I remember thinking: "If I command the ogre to flee, the humans will
follow, and everything will be all right." So I stepped out and
commanded, and the ogre didn't flee. Instead a couple of the humans came
over and stuck me with javelins. When Decimus fell I snatched him to me
with a "rescue" spell, but the wand didn't work on him. Nothing I did
worked on him. The others killed all the humans and the ogre and Decimus
just laid there and was dead. Tamara was crying and Primus was yowling
and he just wouldn't stop being dead.
Alfredus and Robyn made us get off the trail and Robyn laid out the
bodies
while I was healing Alfredus and myself - I'd been jabbed quite a few
times and lost a fair amount of blood, actually, though I don't really
remember it. Alfredus and Tamara were talking rather wildly about
getting Alissa to reincarnate Decimus, but of course he had to come home.
Uncle would know what to do, and his family's here. So we went back to
the Grove, and Tamara and I went on the fay road, and here we are.
Alfredus and Robyn would have come, but I thought, What if something
happens and we don't come back? Things happen. We'd just seen that. So
I made them stay, so someone would be on the island to react if word came
that something happened to our people.
I just remembered. I think I remember. We dodged some hobgoblins at
some
point. They were marching. Toward the ogre settlement? I think so.
Hill giants, too. My brain is like a sieve. I wish Uncle would come. The
fey road comes out not far from his villa near Tarantium, and we sent a
courier. He'll come with Decimus's parents, and a priest, and I'll have
to explain what happened. I'll have to introduce Tamara to his parents.
Primus is curled up on his chest. I keep wondering how he breathes with
all that weight on his chest, and then I remember.
Oct. 16 - Decimus is back! The priest made some demurrals, but after
Uncle took him aside for a little while, he came back and agreed, if
Decimus, when spoken to, indicated he wanted to come back. So I cast
"speak with dead" and he said yes, and he's back as of yesterday.
Resurrection, no less - that must have set Uncle back a very generous
donation. I've barely spoken to him since then. He's been with his
family. I'm not sure where Tamara is, but I've slept the clock round and
had a really good bath, and in a few minutes the horses will come round
and I'll go visit mother in town. It's good to see and hear things
clearly again. I feel as though I'd been wrapped in wool for - let's see
- four days now. I must be sure and tell Decimus's father about how he
took down the hobgoblin garrison essentially single-handed. It will make
him very happy.
Uncle is kindly analyzing the dweomer on Theodosius's holy symbol.
Oct. 17 - Uncle teleported us back to the Grove. All is well, as far as we
know. By now we are quite late, and they will be looking for us anxiously
back in Elfport.
Oct. 18 - After thanking Alissa again for her
hospitality, we set off first thing this morning. Uncle hasn't walked so
much in a long time, but he's keeping up well. Decimus seems rather
subdued. No doubt death is sufficient cause for numerous reflections!
Tamara seems to be avoiding him, though. Oct. 19 - Home again, such as it
is! We sent Alfredus running ahead to warn Greta that we had the Senator
with us, and they put on an impressive spread for such short notice. The
Captain has returned, laden with people and goods, including some of the
sailors' families, and you'd barely know the place. Uncle was pleased to
approve it all, and we've roped off an area that he's memorized, so that
he can teleport in whenever he likes.
Greta tells me that several people have been troubled by nightmares. I'm
afraid that halfling illusionist may not be as willing to leave us alone
as we'd hoped.
Decimus and I need to decide what magic items we need to make before our
next trip. A new wand, for certain - this one is nearly empty. Oct. 20 -
Orus grant me patience on a day like this! Decimus took Tamara and me
aside and gave us some rigamarole about how his life isn't his own anymore
and he was ours to command, all with the gloomiest possible expression. I
commanded him not to be an idiot, since we had only acted as we knew Uncle
would wish us to, and he would have done the same by us. He says his
spells failing him on the day he died was clearly Orus's judgement on him,
that it was us who brought him back, not Orus, and he was going to insist
on being an idiot. (Those aren't precisely the words he used, but that's
what it boils down to.) I told him not to try to teach me theology and
stalked out, into the middle of a celebration - Alfredus had just asked
Greta to marry him, and she'd said yes!
This cheered me considerably, but Tamara looked rather lemonish when
Alfredus called her out, suggesting jovially that if she and Decimus got
married it could be a double wedding. Back she ducked into the room
again, and in a little while they came out, both looking slightly grim,
and announced that they were, in fact, going to get married too.
Myself I'm not at all sure of this. Tamara says she's not taking
advantage of Decimus's state of mind, but is taking responsibility for it.
I can, if I try very hard, think of worst auspices under which to make a
major life decision; but on the whole, this is bad enough. I don't know
what Decimus's problem is, but it isn't dying - he was mercurial and moody
long before that. He's determined to be miserable and to make us
responsible for it, and I'm not about to permit it, but I can't seem to
prevent it - certainly I can't if he persists in not addressing the real
problem.
