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The Improbable Adventures of Corvella Greyrose: Day Four



(Continued from part three, upthread!)




DAY FOUR:

Another dreamless night, another morning feeling just fine. I still didn't know where I was, but I'd found references to familiar gods and locations in some of the writings in the ruin, so I had a good feeling that this was Faerun. It didn't seem that important, really, knowing exactly where in the Realms I was located. There were mysteries to uncover here, and relics to find! I felt like nothing could stop me now.

I did poke my head back into the dangerous section of the ruin, and found that same group of thugs standing firm in what was apparently their territory. But there was another area to explore, beyond the next set of double doors, and that's where I went this morning. I found more pillars, and a very large and creepy statue that I felt pretty sure was of some old god, but I couldn't remember which one. Several skeletons in ragged, ancient robes littered the floor, and a few more sarcophagi and chests scattered around the area rewarded me with a few minor goodies. I cleaned the area out, and found a ladder in a natural cave section that led up to a trapdoor above. Before looking into that, I decided to take one last look around the previous room.

It was hard to spot, but I managed to detect another hidden button on one of the walls. As I examined it, I felt a deep sense of foreboding. This button was trouble, I was sure. I looked around for traps, but found no sign of any. But there was a hint of malevolent magic about the button that had me concerned. I backed away into a dark corner and tried to use my trusty Mage Hand cantrip to push the button, but to my consternation, the disembodied hand couldn't muster enough force to move the button. Next, I summoned forth my favorite Familiar, a raven spirit I call Nevermore. And guess what? HE couldn't push the button EITHER! Thanks, wizardry. Glad to know that a simple button can foil the arcane powers of the Weave.

Sighing with annoyance, I realized that I was going to have to push that damn button with my own delicate (but strong!) finger. After one last examination of the area for traps, runes, sigils, or glyphs of any kind, I finally took a deep breath and depressed the small, circular bump in the wall. The good news was, it did open a hidden room. The bad news, however, was that it ALSO awakened all of those decrepit skeletons in the room. There were at least five or six of them, and they seemed quite hostile to intruders. I, as charming and lovable as I may be, was an intruder.

I'd recovered my magic and studied my spellbook for a few minutes after calling Nevermore, so now I had my good old reliable Fog Cloud ready in my mind. I had enough energy to cast it twice, if need be. So as I stood there with my metaphorical pants around my ankles, staring down a half-dozen undead archaeologist-slayers, there was only one thing to be done. Calling out the familiar incantation, I produced a beautiful, fluffy cloud of fog in between myself and the skeletal figures. THEN, instead of retreating AWAY from them, into the hidden room I'd just unlocked, I ran toward them, INTO the fog, making a bunch of noise on purpose. I had a plan.

As expected, my fleshless foes took the bait, turning their attention to the cloud of fog and seeking me within. But as they did that, I crept out of the back side of the fog, silent as a cat this time. They couldn't see me past the obstructing cloud, they thought I was still inside, so I was free to sneak right into the hidden room without any of them pursuing me. I felt pretty clever as the mindless undead kept their attention on the fog while I began to loot their inner sanctum with impunity. And this time, I was duly rewarded.

Inside a conveniently-unlocked chest, I found a nice bit of polished agate, AND . . . another magical artifact! It was a heavy, macabre-looking amulet, again pregnant with ancient divine power, in the shape of a skull holding a scroll in its mouth. I'd seen the same symbol elsewhere in this ruin, and I was sure it was the emblem of some obscure deity, presumably the same one depicted in the massive statue in the next room. I could feel the strong magic radiating from this incredible find, and I tucked it away into my Haversack with a huge grin on my face.

There was ALSO a big, fancy sarcophagus in this concealed chamber. I checked it for traps, felt confident that there were none, and tried to push the stone lid aside. But it wouldn't budge, and suddenly I heard a sepulchral voice come from within the sarcophagus itself. It said, "Dost thou seek to rush fate? See to the dead first." Well, I didn't know what that meant, but I was pretty ready to get out of there at this point. I had my prize, I didn't need to mess about with any talking coffins. There was, of course, still the matter of the squad of skeletons between me and freedom.

It wasn't too difficult, not after my harrowing shenanigans of the day before. I snuck back into my fog cloud, making some noise as I left the hidden room so that the skeletal minion currently flailing around inside the fog, looking for me, would instead go investigate where I had been, instead of being where I was now going. It worked as expected, and the rest of the undead stared with deathless intensity at the cloud. Their bony hands weaved arcane patterns in the air, preparing to launch some aggressive magic, so I knew that they were spellcasters. I knew that because I'm a REAL WIZARD. (Quick reminder that that Gale guy, if that was even his REAL name, was a stupid jerk.)

Now I had a problem. I had a LONG way to run to get from the safety of my conjured concealment all the way to one of the exits from the area. I knew that I couldn't run fast enough to get out of the skeletal mages' line of sight before they could blast me with whatever nasty sorcery they had on hand. But then it occurred to me that I didn't NEED to run all the way out of the room. I just needed to run . . . to my next patch of fog! All I had to do was cast a second Fog Cloud spell across the room and dart into it, take a quick breather while the skeletons looked for me in confusion, and then I could sprint the rest of the way to one of the exits with the second cloud covering my retreat. (Would GALE have thought of that plan? Doubtful.)

It went off flawlessly, and moments later, I was back on the riverbank, basking in the sunshine and laughing wildly yet again. Another relic reclaimed! Another brush with death (or a brush with undeath, in this case?), and I remained unscathed. I'm beginning to think that I might be the best archaeologist in the world. Well, besides all the ones who know history, and which god is which, and all that boring stuff. Much better than those dumb tomb-robbers.

I used the cliffside rune next to the big door to the ruin, and appeared back up on top of the hill, right where I'd met Gale. (Where I'd been accosted by him, more like.) To my surprise, he was still hanging around there. I think he was looking a bit forlorn, honestly. I stopped for a moment just to tell him what a great wizard I was, and when he predictably asked me if I wanted to travel with him again, I just laughed at him and walked away. I didn't look back, but in my imagination, he had to wipe away a tear as he watched me leave him in the dust.

Okay, I'm being a bit vindictive, but he did belittle my intelligence and say that I wasn't a real wizard. I am CORVELLA, MISTRESS OF FOG. All who defy me will . . . not be able to see. In a small area. Up to twice. (Okay maybe I need to workshop that a little.)

Anyway, moving on. While I'd been down below, down, down, down by the river, I saw what looked like some promising wreckage up on top of a rocky promontory. I thought there might be some salvage to be had, and it looked like I could find a way to get to that precarious perch via the cliffs above. I was right, and I did find a couple of little trinkets up there, so I felt proud of myself. I also noticed that there were more ruins up here on the heights as well, so I thought I'd better take a closer look. An archaeologist's work is never done.

I quickly discovered that these open-air ruins were inhabited by yet another group of dodgy-looking, well-armed people. They seemed of a kind with the gang I'd played hide-and-seek with down below, so at first I just avoided them. I stalked past them and along the cliff edge, where I eventually found an improbably-placed trapdoor. It was locked, but that was no trouble for me, as I defeated the simple mechanism on my first try. A quick investigation revealed that this was the same trapdoor that I'd previously seen from the other side. I was pleased to check this off my mental list, and now felt like I'd fully explored the interior of the ruin.

But there was also this upper region now, and I wanted to look around in it. Those people were in my way, so I considered how to get rid of them. I eavesdropped on their conversation for a bit (not a rude thing to do when in the service of legitimate archaeological business), and found that they were discussing the crashed tentacle-ship. They seemed concerned about it, so I decided to help fuel their imagination a little more. It was easy enough to convince them that there was a massive invasion force of such horrifying vessels coming to this area, and that was enough to send them scurrying away with no small amount of haste. The upper ruin was mine to explore!

The scoundrels (and I have to call them that, as they were clearly trespassing in ancient ruins without a proper archaeological license . . . which I am sure that I have . . . in my other robe) left so quickly that some of their gear remained behind, which I conscientiously took for safe keeping. And I found ANOTHER door. Into some part of the ruin I hadn't seen yet. Clearly there was only one option before me. Out came the creative entry kit, and click went the lock.

I hardly had a chance to even look around inside, for as soon as I went through the door, some pugnacious human leapt to assault me, brandishing a shortsword and yelling something about killing me. I was too quick for him, though, and ducked right back through the door before he could react. I easily lost him in the stonework above, and he presumably went back to guarding that entrance. I was pretty sure I could get past him, if I had my magic at the ready. But I was tapped on arcane power, so I resolved to come back (again!) after another night's sleep.

Back in camp, setting pen to this journal yet again. It feels comforting. I'm developing a routine. Each day my resources grow, and so, too, does my confidence. I still don't remember much, but this new adventure I am on is not disagreeable at all. Maybe eventually I'll make it home to Baldur's Gate, and maybe I'll even recover the rest of my memories. Maybe I have family or friends who miss me, maybe they will throw lavish parties when I return at long last. Maybe my journals will be published, and I will be as famous as Volothamp Geddarm one day. But ALL of that can wait. For now, I have treasure to hunt and villains to outwit.

Time for inventory yet again:

- 1 sweat-stained robe (need to wash this in the river tomorrow), 1 suit of fancy armor languishing in the magic chest, 2 pairs of boots.
- 3 Creative Entry Accoutrements.
- 5 daggers, 3 quarterstaves, 3 shortbows, 2 longswords, 1 handaxe, 1 halberd, 2 scimitars, 1 leather helm, 1 shield, and 1 set of crusty old ring mail armor (who would even wear this stuff?).
- 3 backpacks and 3 collapsible-yet-sturdy crates.
- 11 sketchy bulb-things: 3 "Caustic", 5 "Void", and 3 "Spiked".
- 13 Potions of Healing, 2 Potions of Speed, 1 Potion of Poison Resistance, and 2 Potions of Fire Resistance.
- 2 bottles of water, 3 apples, 1 loaf of sourdough bread, 1 wheel of cheese, and 1 zucchini (quite crisp, too).
- 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, 2 Scrolls of Protection From Evil and Good, 1 Scroll of Guiding Bolt, 1 Scroll of Ray of Enfeeblement, 3 Scrolls of Silence (these might be very useful!), and 1 Scroll of Burning Hands.
- 1 copper ring, 1 onyx ring, 1 burnished necklace, 1 malachite gem, 1 onyx gem, 1 mega-ruby, 2 somewhat drab clamshells, 1 ruby ring, 1 bronze ring with a nice purple gem, 1 polished agate stone, 1 glass chalice, 2 pewter cups, and 1 lovely silver necklace (it cleaned up nicely).
- 1 Alchemist's Fire, 3 Grease Bottles, and 1 Vial of Poison.
- 3 bundles of Mugwort, 1 of Mergrass, and 1 of Autumncrocus.
- 1 Soul Coin.
- 1 astounding journal!
- 4 quills, 2 ink pots, 2 candles, and 1 torch.
- 1 MISTMANCER'S TOME OF ARCANE CHICANERY, known to the uninitiated as a "spellbook".
- 1 Artifact: The Watcher's Guide (placed into the magic chest for safe keeping)
- 1 Artifact: an as-of-yet unidentified skull amulet that radiates necromantic energies
- 191 gold coins (a nice jump up from yesterday).





OOC Part:


DEATH COUNT: 2

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get that amulet and get out without fighting the skeletons, but once again, it seems that Fog Cloud is the greatest spell of all time. At least, until I manage to get Invisibility.

Leveling up is going to be very hard without killing anything, though. I'm still 100 XP away from level 2, and it only comes in tiny dribs and drabs so far.

I'm starting to accumulate a lot of sellable loot, I need to get to a merchant soon.


Thanks everyone fort your kind comments, by the way!




Stay tuned for the next part, coming further down the thread soon!