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The Improbable Adventures of Corvella Greyrose: Day Two



(Continued from the original post!)



DAY TWO:


I awoke late in the morning feeling somewhat refreshed, but not as much as I'd like. At least the headache is gone, now replaced by an aching body from laying so long upon the hard ground. My sleep was . . . not untroubled. Strange dreams plagued me, of a type that I cannot really describe other than to say that they left me feeling quite disturbed. Not all of the dreams were odd and alarming, though. I also had some more normal dreams, of what I believe to be my life prior to the whole "prisoner of betentacled horrors" thing. I think this, because after getting awake, I feel like I have regained some memories. Not many, but enough to give me some idea of what kinds of things I got up to in the past. Maybe.

I have incomplete images of myself exploring ancient ruins, caves, and crypts, and uncovering dusty artifacts. I remember feeling very excited about that. And I remember, vaguely, telling people that I was an "archaeologist", though as I understand the definition, it seems quite unlikely to me that this claim was factually true. I know next to nothing of history, ancient or modern, and I'm pretty sure that an actual archaeologist WOULD know a bit, or a lot, about it. So it's possible that I occasionally told a small fib or two. Cutely, though. Which makes it okay.

As I had my breakfast and washed myself in the river, I pondered these fleeting memories, and decided that if this is who I was, than I should try to stay true to my apparent calling. Maybe if I pursue the kinds of things I was passionate about before, it will bring forth more memory within my mind, and I can reclaim myself from the mists of whatever those THINGS did to me. Thus, my decision was made. I would try to break in to those locked ruins that my fellow half-elven lady had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get into. Something about the idea of sneaking in there and poking around for abandoned treasures had my heart beating faster, and I was already starting to feel better about my whole new situation.

Unfortunately, nothing I could do would get that blasted door open. It quickly became apparent that if I wanted to get inside that ruin, I needed some proper tools. Well, improper tools, I suppose most would call them. Let's call them "creative entry" accoutrements. I resolved to come back once I was better equipped for the job.

A quick survey of the area revealed that I had little choice but to make my way back through the burning wreckage of the "ghaik" airship if I wanted to make any progress inland. It was either that, or what looked like a long swim through the river, which I was decidedly not keen to attempt. Spellbooks and deep water do not a fine combination make. I wasn't thrilled about re-entering the alien vessel, even in a crashed and broken state, but I felt it my best way forward.

To my delight ("delight" here meaning "NOT delight"), I found that there were a few more of those hideous brain creatures hunting around, directly in my way. I studied them from the shadows, hoping that perhaps one of them would be Us, and be happy to see me, but sadly, no. These looked fierce and hungry, and I wanted no contact with them. On the other hand, I did see one of the mind flayers' grotesque-looking chests, ripe for the plundering, as well as the corpses of a couple of the creatures themselves, with promising bulges in the pockets of their robes. The brain monsters made me nervous, but not quite nervous enough to stop THIS "archaeologist" from collecting useful items! Through some careful, and I must say impressively clever stealth, as well as a timely illusion cantrip or two, I was able to pick up several nice goodies from the wreckage, remain undetected, and make it out the other side, clean as an elven arse. (I swear I heard someone say that phrase once, but I can't remember where...)

Moving on, I found some abandoned crates (a lot of abandoned goods around this area, for some reason), and inside, to my amused surprise, I discovered a perfectly serviceable set of thieves' tools. Shit, I mean ARCHAEOLOGY EQUIPMENT. What a lucky find! (I'm going to have to do something nice for the next priest of Tymora I meet, seriously.) There was a locked box nearby as well, so I got a chance to test my new creative entry accoutrements out, and found that they worked very well indeed. More useful items, into the Haversack. I was considering sneaking back through the shattered ship to take a crack at that ruin door, when I heard someone shouting from just up the hill. Curiosity got the better of me, I'm afraid.

I crept closer, sticking to the bushes, and saw a foppish-looking elven man standing out the middle of everything, in broad daylight, with dangerous creatures all around, yelling for help over and over, like some kind of loon. He didn't see me, however, and I decided it was best to . . . uh . . . check him for dangerous contraband. Without his knowledge. It was easy enough to sneak up on him, and I began helping myself to various useful trinkets from his woefully unsecured pack. He even had ANOTHER set of thieves' tools on him, what a naughty boy. Ahem, or perhaps another completely legitimate archaeologist. Like me. Like I definitely am. Doubted it though, from his impractical clothes. Didn't look like he could sneak past a drunk ogre during nap time in those stuffy garments.

Then a very odd thing occurred. I was reaching for the last item he had, a healing potion, when suddenly he turned and caught me in the act! He reacted with immediate fury, and killed me in a single blow. I felt myself die at his hand, saw it all happen so clearly, but then . . . it somehow UN-happened. I blinked, and there I was again behind him, whole and undetected. It was a chilling experience. It couldn't have been REAL, as here I was, alive and well. But it sure FELT real in the moment. In any case, I couldn't just be deterred by such an oddity, so into the Haversack his last potion went. He was rather handsome, I must admit, so I was tempted to reveal myself and find out what he was fussing about. But that strange un-memory of him so easily dispatching me was still rolling around in my head, so I decided to play it safe and just sneak past him and leave him to his deranged shouting.

A bit further up the hill, I was looking out at the vista of the river and its surrounding terrain, and I noticed a secluded little hollow of sorts down below me. All I could actually SEE were rocks down there, but my treasure sense was tingling. I thought, "That looks like a place where somebody would HIDE something." So I couldn't help but climb down and check it out. After moving a suspiciously-placed rock (which was surprisingly easy, I seem awfully strong for an "archaeologist"), I found that I had been RIGHT! There was a lovely chest hidden away in there, and glorious riches found within. In addition to some maps and documents talking about some people called "Harpers" (the name sounds familiar somehow, but I can't remember why), there was an absolutely brilliant ruby. I whistled to myself as I inspected it, the clink of many shiny coins being poured into my hands already sounding in my mind. A real treasure! I'm pretty good at this, it seems.

Once again, I found myself needing to creep through another section of the downed tentacle-ship, fires yet burning within. I saw a group of three people in peasant garb furiously digging at the wreckage, trying to free what looked like a badly-injured one of those disgusting "ghaik" things that was currently buried under . . . whatever it is this freakish vehicle is made of. They, too, were calling for help, but no curiosity compelled me this time. I took one look at that scene, said to myself, "Nope," and just went a different direction entirely.

I found a trio of dead goblins along the path, which struck me as odd. No telling what killed them. I relieved them of their shoddy weaponry, in any case. Then I noticed another one of those mysterious magical runes on another cliff face ahead of me. I had to get a closer look. No sooner had I approached within arm's reach of the sigil, when a mystical portal opened up before me and a robed human man materialized in front of me. I was taken by surprise, and somewhat flustered, but it turned out that he was quite friendly. He introduced himself as Gale, and said that he, too, had been a prisoner on the monstrous flying ship, which he called a "nautiloid". I was admiring his face, which was pleasant to look at, when he insulted me by saying that I looked stupid and was obviously no wizard! I promptly corrected him, but even then he acted like I was barely an apprentice. (Look, I know I'm no magical prodigy, but it's rude to just point it out like that.)

(Not at all having any of Gale's patronizing bullshit.)

After that, I wasn't really listening to what he said. He was talking about parasites, and "ceremorphosis", and a bunch of delusional-sounding stuff. Then, out of the blue, he propositioned me to become his traveling partner or something. As if I'd want to team up with someone who thinks he's better than me? I liked his hair, it was quite nice, obviously Prestidigitated. And his robe was MUCH better than mine, I strongly considered trying to wheedle him out of it. But once again, I had to simply decline his offer and move on with my own journey alone. (It's also POSSIBLE that he somehow "lost" a couple of healing potions around the exact same time as our encounter. Unlucky fellow.)

It didn't take much study of the rune circle by this "inferior wizard" to figure out how to use it to teleport myself to the first rune I'd found, which allowed me to get back to that ruins door without having to sneak past any more brain-skitterers. I felt clever, accomplished, and quite vindicated for working this out, after my little talk with Mister Big Britches Wizard Man. So now it was time to delve into that tantalizing ruin! Unfortunately, I turned out to be a bit rusty with the tools, and broke the first set that I'd found, without getting the lock to lift its skirts for me. But lucky me, I had WISELY helped myself to a SECOND set of tools, from that pretty elf lunatic in the ridiculous attire.

The second try was the charm, and with a deeply satisfying "click", I found my way into the ruins open at last. It was completely dark within, but I had neither torch nor sunrod. I wouldn't have dared to ignite one even if I did, for I had no idea what dangers may lurk in this ancient place. Fortunately, my elven heritage let me see fairly well even with no light. Whichever one of my parents was the elf, thanks! I found myself inside a very old-looking tomb, with several sarcophagi, as well as vases and crates about. Plenty to search in there.

Almost immediately, I began to notice signs of trouble. Strange vents in the stone floor, questionable gargoyle heads on the walls with deep holes in their mouths. The room was obviously trapped, and quite fiendishly so. The large central sarcophagus seemed the likely trigger, so I searched the rest of the room first. Among various weapons and other small bits of mundane loot, I also stumbled upon (quite literally, I kicked it with my foot and heard it clatter against the stones) a most curious find. A very creepy coin of dark iron, which tingled with some kind of energy and had a bit of the stink of the Hells about it. It was unlike anything I can recall ever seeing, and it FELT important, valuable, and maybe a little bit dangerous. Of course I pocketed it for later study.

Finally, I found a concealed button upon a pillar, which I deduced would turn off the traps. Thus emboldened by my perceived safety, I finally pushed away the heavy stone lid of the central sarcophagus. Inside rested a beautiful, uniquely-crafted spear, bathed in an enchanted blue glow. My figurative eyes lit up, and my heart raced. Finally, a true magical item! Picking it up, I could feel its ancient divine power, and I shivered with the sensation. More lost memories flashed through my mind as I beheld the relic, remembrances of times in the past when I had found objects such as this. The dreams hadn't been mere fancy. This is what I do, this is who I am. I felt more at ease in that moment, holding aloft that shining artifact in the midst of a dark, dusty, trap-laden crypt, than I have since I first awoke to this new life.

Although there was clearly much more to see and to find in this ruin, I decided that I'd done enough for one day, and headed straight back to the campsite. I was pleased to see that it remained undisturbed, and I settled in to write this journal entry and then spend a good long while studying my new acquisitions. I think I'll be up a BIT past my bedtime this night.

(Tomorrow, back into the tomb!)

Time to take inventory again:

- 1 robe, still green, not as nice as the one that Gale had on.
- 1 suit of very fancy half-plate armor which I'm sure Mean Green didn't want to be burdened with anyway.
- 2 pairs of functional leather boots.
- 1 set of very nice "creative entry accoutrements" FOR LEGITIMATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL USE ONLY.
- 2 daggers, 1 quarterstaff, 3 shortbows (one of poor goblin make), 2 longswords, 1 handaxe, 1 halberd, 1 crappy goblin scimitar, 1 leather helm (not for me - helmet hair is no joke), and 1 wooden shield.
- 2 backpacks and 2 collapsible-yet-sturdy crates (easy to carry, fun to stack!).
- 11 weird bulbs from the ship: 3 "Caustic", 5 "Void", and 3 "Spiked".
- 12 Potions of Healing, 2 Potions of Speed, 1 Potion of Poison Resistance, and 1 Potion of Fire Resistance.
- 2 bottles of water, 3 apples, 1 loaf of sourdough bread, and 1 wheel of cheese.
- 2 Scrolls of Revivify, 1 Scroll of False Life, 1 Scroll of Inflict Wounds, 1 Scroll of Mage Armor, and 1 Scroll of Fire Bolt.
- 1 copper ring, 1 onyx ring, 1 burnished necklace, 1 malachite gem, 1 onyx gem, and 1 EPIC RUBY (Mama's gonna buy herself a new horse!).
- 1 Alchemist's Fire, 3 Grease Bottles, and 1 Vial of some kind of Poison (I mean, it's a sickly green and it has skulls on the label, so I'm gonna assume).
- 3 bundles of Mugwort, 1 of Mergrass, and 1 of Autumncrocus.
- 2 shiny clamshells (which some rube will probably buy).
- 1 sinister grimdark coin (needs further study).
- 1 fascinating journal and 1 quill.
- 1 ACTUAL WIZARD'S spellbook (fuck you, Gale).
- 1 amazing magical spear from a long-forgotten age of wonders, thrumming with potent power (okay, I didn't mean to make that sound so erotic . . . but still, it's a sexy spear).
- 114 gold coins (better than nothing I guess).



OOC Part:

So, I had my first death already. Failing to pickpocket Astarion led to him turning around and instantly one-shotting me. I did like the fact that, if you're sneaking, the automatic scenes with Astarion and Gale do NOT trigger. Pretty nice.

I've decided that whenever I die, I'm going to write it into the narrative as some kind of weird vision of averted fate that Corvella experiences, before the save is loaded and she snaps back to where she was right before the fatal incident.

I was SUPER tempted to break my "do not accept any companions" rule already, as I really wanted to add Gale to the party and steal his robe. But I resisted the urge, and stuck to my plan.


Stay tuned for more entries, which will be posted as replies to this thread!


Part three is now up: https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=733130#Post733130