Journal - The Hunt for Kellerot

Lizardfolk Island

There was a rough path leading up to the ruined tower, infrequently used but I could see that it had been used recently. A group had gone up the hill and then returned dragging something, which was presumably me as that's where I had awoken. We could just, if we strained to see, make out the tip of an obelisk near to the tower above us. That would make sense if I was transported there by Karmana. We decided to head up towards this area, just to our east we reckoned.

Falcor led the way with Arad following and then I was behind. They were still wary, with bows drawn, but I just looked around, enjoying the walk. There was a sail almost on the horizon to the west, and a fishing boat to the south of where we were, but no immediate sign of trouble. It was dry and warm and we reached the area unopposed. What was left of the tower looked like Custor's, but it was significantly damaged (damage that looked to have occurred a long time ago). About half had collapsed between the north west and south east with only the south west quarter at full height still. There was no obvious signs of life as we approached. It did smell, we noticed as we neared, very strongly of bat guano.

The obelisk looked as if it had thrust out from the earth very recently, judging by the disturbed soil, and was a green quartz. Falcor walked up and touched the obelisk and the same "see-saw" symbol appeared as it had on the obelisk in the village. He invited me to try the same, not knowing that I was itching to try to commune with Karmana again, having felt her loving embrace once before. The obelisk was my best chance of doing so, and I knelt down to touch the earth before moving my hands onto the obelisk, reaching out with my mind for the thought, or perhaps the emotion, of Karmana. Almost at once I was overwhelmed once more with energy and love, having succeeded in connecting directly with her, it was like a rapturous joy.

I immediately pledged myself to her service and vowed to heal the damage done to her. I knew deep down that such an immense task was a lifetime commitment that might never be achieved, but at that moment I didn't care about difficulty or consequences; anything seemed possible. I, for a moment, thought that I should perhaps be worried about how my friends were reacting to my "absence", but the thought passed fleetingly as the energy flowed through me, and I tried to control it so that I was not overwhelmed in the way that I had been before.

I had been right about my friends, though, as they had seen my body collapse and were trying to revive me without success. I seemed to be staring into space blissfully and was completely unresponsive, smiling. Despite their efforts it was rather my own reluctant return to reality that eventually brought me to consciousness, having dragged my mind back to the here and now. Apparently a symbol had appeared while I was out, similar to Falcor's and also like the one on Arad's prayer book, but again at a different angle. I was more concerned with looking around me, finding that I was connected to Karmana (both the world and the Goddess) in a way that I had not been before. The world seemed more vibrant and alive, and I instinctively knew that I could connect with it and encourage it to change with me, although only in a limited way, after all... we were all part of Karmana and all connected.

Falcor snapped me out of my reverie with a warning - he had a sense that we were being watched, which he shared with Arad. Arad confirmed it - we were being scryed by someone or something! Suddenly a window in the world opened, unnaturally this time, with a small room visible on the other side that was filled with legionnaires. They wore a bull symbol on their shield and tunics, and quickly started charging through towards us. It was clear why when the portal promptly closed behind them, but we were not sure (yet) whether they were a threat to us.

Falcor stepped forward and shouted "Halt!" intending to speak with them. I stepped to the side, just behind him, wary of their intentions but not wanting to provoke a fight. Arad had his bow notched, trained on the leader. They moved into a defensive formation, in a line facing us, close together with shields and spears to the fore. Falcor stepped forward again, shouting: "State your business here"!

They kept advancing, although at a jog rather than a charge, but did not respond to Falcor at all. Still wary, but not wanting to allow them to engage us, I called for the first time on Karmana, reaching out to the plants all around us and focusing on their advance, asking that Karmana held them back in order to avoid bloodshed. It seemed natural, even though it seems strange to write about it now, that the plants came to life at their feet and grasped at them, trying to hold them in place. A couple were completely held, and even the others that were able to press on were slowed. No harm was done to them, though.

I moved forward to join Falcor, who was shouting: "We mean you no harm, put down your weapons." Arad flanked them, keeping his bow trained and splitting their attention. I flanked the other way as they struggled to break free into clear ground. Two reached the edge and immediately charged straight at Falcor. Arad managed to put an arrow into the chest of one as he ran forward, slowing him slightly and giving Falcor a target. Sure enough, Falcor danced to his right, slipping his dagger in to the side of the wounded man's shield and finishing him off. The spear of the other attacker scraped off his armour, but Falcor spun inside its reach and drove his sword into the thigh of the other one. The wounded man lost his balance and had to ground his shield to avoid falling, but that left him open to another arrow from Arad, which found its mark and he fell without even shouting out.

Two more broke free to attack Falcor again, who again found a weak spot with his dagger. I sprinted forward to join him, shouting at the foe to "stop fighting you fools". They didn't of course, seemingly fanatics of some kind, and Falcor was stabbed for the first time. He used the opening to attack rather than pulling back, cutting one deeply who then collapsed spurting blood. Arad charged forward, looking to tackle the other attacker to the ground, and managed to knock him to all fours and grapple him, forcing him to drop his spear.

Arad kept him pinned as Falcor tied him up. I tried to ask why they were attacking us, but instead he just tried to bite me. I moved to headbutt him in return, but he twisted his neck to the side, seeing what I was trying to do. Sneaky bastard! Despite their belligerence we still wanted to give them the chance to surrender, so we surrounded the writhing plants and stood ready, knowing that it would not last forever. Falcor told them to surrender and lower their weapons as soon as they were free, but when the plants subsided another portal appeared and the last two jumped through, back from whence they came presumably. We were left with just the one prisoner, still unable to move.

He stubbornly refused to respond to any questions we asked, so we stripped him of armour and collected weapons from him and the fallen, but did warn him that his life was in danger if he stayed due to the other occupants of the island that would be less understanding. Falcor told him that he "must go if you can". After this we released him and let him run off behind the tower, not caring to follow him. Instead we slowly make our way around the tower to see what was there, if anything.

Arad called on the Creator to heal Falcor and also his own wounds, then he and I split off to scout the tower quietly while Falcor covered us from behind. As we got really close the stink became really rancid. The tower had obviously fallen to ruin a long time ago, as large parts of the fallen masonry were covered in grass. There was guano piled on every layer of what was left, and the ground floor area was a thick, solid layer of guano. It was so smelly it's impossible really to describe in words.

Arad wanted to poke around in the shit in case there was a hidden trapdoor like in Custor's tower. I baulked at this... not very keen at all! I found myself dry retching as I got really close, but Arad went forward with a borrowed iron pot from Falcor, actually digging in the shit. It was disgusting to watch, let alone do it, and eventually he was overcome and starts heaving his guts up, unable to move. I ran in, intending to get him out, but I was overcome as well and end up puking next to him! Falcor, thankfully, was able to rescue us both, resisting the stink somehow as he made the journey twice. As soon as I could I moved to get farther back, trying to get the stink out of my nose without much success.

Arad had an idea to burn the guano off, and I gave up an oil flask that they threw into the shit and then we retreated to where Arad could loose a flaming arrow into it. The fire was slow to start, but as it built the heat was impressive. As we waited for the flames to grow I followed the tracks of the legionnaire to see where he had headed... but found that he had thrown himself to his death off the cliffs behind the tower! A real fanatic, I don't think I will ever understand humans.

I have been remiss because I have forgotten to mention one other thing. I had noticed a group making their way up towards the tower from the shoreline to our west, where the Elvramar we had subdued had headed toward. They were approaching slowly, so we were not concerned about their approach, and we even hoped that they might be... well, at least neutral and willing to talk. That's not to say that we wouldn't take precautions. I used my cloak, a gift from Karmana, to hide myself to one side as Falcor stood and awaited their arrival, with Arad covering him from further back.