Had some bugginess when I turned werebeast, and took me a while to figure it out. Also it turns out Careci Roundstones isn't going to retire just yet, as I had planned...
EDIT: Well, turns out it was a whole lot of nothing. Not enough happened, so there's now just a tiny addendum to the end.
The pikeman recognizes my bravery, but I still am not forgiven for slaying TalonSeduced. However she does agree to lead me to another cave. I was lucky enough that during our travels we were also attacked by a Night Troll. My companion claims credit for the kill, although it clearly bled to death after my own strikes. I will let it lie, however. I slay another beast and the process repeats.
After a week of this, I have slain five night creatures total. My guide knows there are still beasts out there but is unsure of their location. I have decided to besiege SlaveTorment, a dark fortress. I will spare the goblins that I can, but I suspect they harbor terrors in that dark tower.
I have reached the entrance. Upon entering I talk to a few people. The goblin’s leader is a human named Ngom Cruelfever. The Exalted Guise, a goblin does not think the Band of Howls is fit to rule. After a bit of talking, Ngom charges a master. The politics here are brutal. I stay out of it. I have learned my lesson about interfering in squabbles over allegiance. How grateful I am to be detached from this world.
Shato is speaking to me now. I suppose slaying all the beasts and letting her kill the ‘traitor’ has raised me up in her eyes. As I wander through the tower I find many prison cells. I beach down nearly every door, but not one contains any kidnapped children. Perhaps the stories of goblin terror were exaggerated.
As I wander around I hear cries for help from a goblin butcher I saw earlier. I am unsure whether it is the insurrection I’ve been hearing about or something else. I am far too deep within to make it out, but Shato says that the Band of Howls has been deposed. Returning to the surface seems wise, as I feel I am unable to discern to path to the underneath. Shato charges the goblin butcher now, I am unsure how she manages to keep abreast of the politics so intuitively.
I thought I noticed goblins atop the roof of the tower so I headed there….
There were definitely goblins there. They say they are traveling, this must be the group about to flee Slavetorment. Following them out of the city, they’ve set up a camp. Shato is chasing a goblin carpenter, and I am trying to get her to stop. The goblin is killed and we continue on our way.
It’s the 3rd of moonstone and it becomes ever more difficult to find creatures of the night. I run into an old foe. A bandit leader that Ilpi and I encountered after exacting vengeance on Nekol. No one in town seemed to complain.
Where are the terrors? I ask Shato and she tells me of a story of how a ghostly dwarf died of thirst. I believe she means a dwarf died of thirst and became a ghost, but am unsure. In any case, I am unable to slay ghosts, so the matter is…immaterial.
I leave Shato behind so I can train without interruption. During that time I encounter a large bestial rat. The fight lasts for a long while, but having blinded it before hand, it is simple training. I suffered only a small bite to the hand. I wander back towards Jadewebs after a bit more wandering, but it seems the goblins are afraid of me now.
There are several tombs near Jadewebs and I have decided to search them for any restless dead. After this I may retire with Shato, any remaining night creatures are too scattered for me to find. I haven’t seen Shato since returning, so I ask a dwarf to accompany me. The first tomb I check is that of a general who died peacefully. After investigating his coffin, nothing struck me as odd, so I proceeded to the second of the five.
While wandering the halls we awoke Ijam the War Leader! Tekkud is overwhelmed and I barely make a fighting retreat up through the tomb. The mummy arrives and declares me cursed My pike was a poor choice of weapon against the dead, but luckily an bronze sword lay within. Making use of the traps, I make my stand, slowly whittling off the limbs of the dead. As I backed out of the tomb, the sun’s light descended upon a grotesque sight. A parade of butchered arms followed me out, but they moved slowly enough that I was able to maneuver around behind Iljam and remove her head. Two tombs checked, with three remaining.
It was a tough decision, but I doubt I could take a mummy alone. I asked Idil, a consort to join me. He seeks glory and death, I hope he can escape the latter. I am under no illusion he is as skilled as my past companions, but any help is appreciated. The tomb we enter is that of Aso Letengbendi, another war leader. I realize that these tombs are likely each for renown tacticians. As we adventure through the halls, I butcher each corpse so that even if they rise, they will be less of a threat. Aso looks at me oddly, but says nothing. In the end, we find the tetrahedrite coffin and nothing occurs. I step in, prepared to face the wrath of a mummy, but nothing happens.
Kenom Kaditirin is the one who resides within the penultimate tomb. I make a foolish move. Leaping from a detached stairwell onto a balcony, I begin butchering the masses of corpses. However Aso, likely complacent from the last tomb we entered, strolls right by the coffin awakening the mummy. Instantly, legions of the dead rise up. This will be a fight to remember. I begin by leaping towards the two skeletons on my level. One shambles off the side, but I doubt the fall will do enough damage to permanently incapacitate it. The horde managed to shove me and I fell down the four floors, but I quickly regained my footing. I’ve learned that if I leap through them, they will attempt to dodge, which let me quickly make it back to the stairs and to my original position.
Many bodies on each floor arose spontaneously, and you can see the numerous bodies that overwhelmed Aso on the bottom.
Armed with knowledge from the second tomb, I chop off the legs whole, slowing them down. Then, after casting most back down the pit, I chop off their fingers one by one, so they won’t come back. Even in mid punch I was able to slice off a single finger of my choosing. It seems…are they learning from my tactics, or is it mere coincidence? The dead are now leaping from the stairwell to me, sometimes putting me off balance. Still even with three score dead, I am unable to locate the mummy herself. Perhaps I did not notice her among the other countless dead, or perhaps she was slain by one of her own falling necromantic minions. It would be fittingly ironic.
There is but one tomb left. I will enter it alone, as I need only slay the mummy at the center. The world will be safe, at least for a time. I enter, and it is the resting place of General Ceshed Athisnisam. There are quite a few corpses, but the number pales in comparison to what I had just fought. I step up next to the coffin, sword ready…
…and nothing.
The grand battle of Kenom’s tomb was grand enough for a final adventure, I suppose, and I am still alive. Night creatures have made themselves scarce, and it is time for me to retire. Shato awaited me in Jadewebs, and we returned to The East Den in Notchivy to retire…
I ask and they can’t remember what happened. How helpful. But this is the resting place of Ilpi and Mastrosp, I will not sit idly by. At least I wouldn’t if anything was actually going on. With Kajeth Girlfed in tow, I leave Notchivy. It may just be chaos, as I can find no leaders. I head to The Fall of Song in Youthfulshadows, a town that is between Jadeweb and Notchivy. The lady allows me to stay here. I hope I get to live a peaceful life now.