"Thikut I, Part 2" - Turn 142
The Journey of Thikut and Wo14th Limestone 1069The full moon has passed, and with it any threat of werebeast attacks for at least another month. The wolverine man Wo, from Livingdead, has arrived. He has changed his mind about travelling together and has beseeched me to lead him to The Eternal Citadel. He wishes to meet up with his packmate Isk, who is now a noble in that fort. An outpost liaison, if the wolverine man can be trusted.
Wo is in a sorry state. He is covered in wounds, and some look infected. He has apparently been fighting goblins. He is missing his right front tooth and perhaps most concerningly there is a copper arrow lodged in the socket of his ruined right eye.
I agree to lead him south, as in truth I am headed that way anyway. I am no further forward to finding my husband, so thats as good a place to look as any. We arrive in Padcalls. Wo's fidgeting with the arrow in his eye. I tell him to take it out, but he's scared. Eventually he agrees. I agree to keep it for safe keeping. Out it plops, in a pool of werecat blood. What has this wolverine man been up to? Oh well, I will try anything once and my rum stocks are low.
In Padcalls we meet the Lord Juvar Scarsung and a number of dwarven priests of Imi, the god of trickery. They too have heard of Ineth's coronation, but offer no further clues to his whereabouts. We continue south.
15th Limestone 1069We explore the ruined tower of Largetempests finding only a zombie leopard, which is easily put out of its misery. In Dieportals to the east, an old dwarven fort is home to priests of the Sect of Evenness, and at least a few blighted thralls. Fighting in the corridors of an old fort is sometimes risky.
A few more thralls are killed but then things take a rather bizarre turn. Wo rolls a dice at a shrine of a forgotten God and is transformed into a gigantic preying mantis by the Mine of Ambers. I have to gather all his gear and he steadfastly refuses to let me lead or indeed ride him. This could get weird. I wonder if his right eye will grow back?
We come to the bottom level and I can hear wet sounds of death from beyond the door. In his current transformed state, Wo cannot enter alone owing to his lack of opposable thumbs. I can feel his eyes glaring at me as I lead him... After killing the thralled priests, I find a charming book called In Pursuit Of The Wombat Man, and a well crafted bronze bracelet of delightful design - how lovely.
I mount my faithful steed and ride out into the dusk. He is going to be so angry.
17th Limestone 1069The pair of us woke up from a rest at dawn by the embers of a campfire and it seems Wo has turned back into a naked wolverine man. His mangled right eye and other injuries have miraculously healed thanks to the divine intervention, but he still is missing a tooth. He rejoices at not being a one-eyed bandit anymore, before sheepishly putting his clothes back on. He feels weak and strange, and I notice how he struggles to carry his pack - some after effect of the transformation?
We press on southwards arriving soon at the dwarven fort of Confusedship, where we find an injured weaponsmith with an adamantine axe; sadly he does not wish to part with it. The lower levels of the fort are flooded with magma and there are no monsters to slay. We leave, heading in the direction of southern end of the valley. Most of the forts we encounter are empty, and worse of all, we are running low on booze.
18th Limestone 1069Leaving the valley of The High Confederacies to the south, Wo and I spot a mountain on the horizon with what looks like the smoke from a volcano shrouding it. It is nto long before we arrive at a rather impressive fort - there is evidence here of ancient battles and the land is scorched and ashen. Many goblin and human skeletons lie in the blackened dirt. This must be the famed Ironwards, The Strifeful Hollows. We are in luck! Although the great fortress appears long abandoned and the magma moat is dry, we find amongst the stills several large pots brimming full of dwarven wine! The next few days pass in a drunken stupor.
24th Limestone 1069We've spent far too long here amongst the skeletons of goblins and demons. The wine was moreish. Wo still feels strange after his time as a giant mantis. The curse should have passed by now - he looks as strong as he used to but he feels weak and is burdened by his pack. I had hoped a long rest would get that out of his system, but he is still pitifully slow. I promised to get him to the Citadel though, and that is what I will do.
26th Limestone 1069We have arrived at the town of Diptramples shortly before dawn, near the famed Museum. We meet a number of strange creatures. The Baron of Stakelessons is a gorlak necromancer by the name of Nom the Cheese, and he is surrounded by chittering gremlins. One of the gremlins is massively muscled and hefts an enormous halbered four times its size. There are a few of these musclebound gremlins, and they have suspicously long teeth. Inside the keep, I find another clone of Zar Evenchirped, along with many gremlins, trinkets and artifacts relating to famous adventurers. This Zar claims to be a companion of the great Bralbaard Hammerfishes! A likely story.
The Museum itself is spectacular. They have so many priceless artifacts, they litter the very ground outside. We are greeted by the goblin Glubbo Monstergully, the Honey Fiend. Somewhat distractingly, she has a pot of honey sewn into her head and a hive of live bees buzzing around in her guts. Goblins are odd.
It appears old Glubbo has had an interesting life. She is a lady of The Most Sin, and fought for many years against The Knowing Deceiver and others. She was captured by dwarves in Archquakes, then freed when goblins sacked that old fort. She was then imprisoned by elves in Feedforded after another bungled attack, and was then rescued some years later by Bralbaard Hammerfishes the Yawning, King of the Walled Dye, who brought her to Boltspumpkin. Here she resides to this day, despite still being Lady of The Infallible Ticks of Poisonuttered! She shows us around the Museum and apologises for the mess. There are simply too many objects here to catalogue any more, hence the piles of books and objects unceremoniously dumped outside.
I leave my own offering to the Museum - the copper earring Ransackcontrols, from Livingdead. This artefact packs a lot of detail into a small space. It shows the first king of the Page of Tiredness, alongside the old Baron of Keyconjure Stukos Mournsaints slaying a hollow hunter in the mountains outside the dreaded Realmspire in 1021.
When I explain the concept to Wo, he wants to leave something too. Rummaging in his pack, he pulls out a peach wood barrel brimming with werecat blood. He had that the whole time? He nods and grins. "The Nasty Blood of Cats," he announces proudly. I don't think he quite gets it.
We sift through a few of the old books lying around. Imagine my horror when both Wo and I learn the secrets of life and death! Who leaves stuff like this just lying around? I am most surprised that Wo can even read. Time to make ourselves scarce before anyone notices. We head south east, towards the human lands, stopping at a monastery to leave our no longer needed food and water. We keep some of the booze, of course.
27th Limestone 1069Wo and I arrive in the human town of Growlsuppers. Supposedly a human kingdom has its seat here, though from what I have heard, there have been repeated incursions of undead in the past. I am not sure what to expect. The keep is in fact deserted. Many items litter the floor. Wo is surprised to find some items that fit his small frame - apparently they used to belong to a Soldier of Night, whatever that is.
We hear a noise outside - it is the goblin Rakel Tulipspatters, Guild Representative. He seems to be the only soul here, until I hear wings flapping above. Climbing the tower to the south west, I am surprised to find Ishes Shovelscribes the Ugly, Soldier of Night Head Doctor flapping in the air on stretched leathery wings. She is missing a hand and her body is a mess of old wounds. She too has heard my husband is king, but like most of these lands, has absolutely no idea where he might be.
We continue southeast, and stumble upon a huge moose man necromancer in a mead hall, surrounded by body parts. What appears to be a bear person's tongue and ears are scattered on the floor. The great monster appears to be missing a hoof but he doesn't seem too worried about it. I gingerly offer him it back and he boasts of his mastery of dodging. I read a book about a very sinister sounding capybara man, then Wo and I take our leave, heading southwards.
We pass through several human villages inhabited by dwarven traders of the Matched Hame. Surely my husband must have travelled here. The largest town nearby is Pricerings, so we head there.
28th Limestone 1069Pricerings. A large and impressive human town. The sun is high in the sky as we enter the keep. Do my eyes deceive me? Is this Ineth Relicheart?
He seems much changed since last we met though he greets me warmly enough. He has put on some muscle in the past few years, and is bedecked in fine armour of adamantine and blistered metal. He certainly has a regal bearing. He tells me Pricerings is now the capital of The Matched Hame, a dwarven civilisation born again, and that I am indeed his Queen.
We talk at length. I am to head to Palacework and make it ready to receive Ineth as his mountainhome. I agree to do this, but first I will fulfil my promise to Wo and bring him to The Eternal Citadel. Ineth grins warmly at this suggestion. The Citadel has a place of fondness in his heart.
I give my husband the axe I have carried from Livingdead, The Primitive Spirit - once used by Moldath Mournsaints to slay vampires in Icefury, and responsible for the death of the forgotten beast Avife. He seems unimpressed, and stores it on a pedestal. He does grant me a blistered metal axe of unparalleled craft in return - a weapon of The Page of Tiredness from The Eternal Citadel inscribed with an image of the founding of the Citadel, and of the Veneration of Nightmares, symbol of the Book of Dreams. It was a gift from Baron Degel Bloodwrath of the line of Mournsaints. I accept this gift.
Soon enough it is time to continue our journey. We will head to the Eternal Citadel for Wo, then I will retire to Palacework to make it ready for the King. We stop for the night in the hillocks of Wheeldells. It is pitch black outside the mead hall and the militia commander is fast asleep. Somewhat unsettlingly the injured Sherrif and expedition leader are not.
Vampires! We confront them, and slay them quickly, then the madnes begins. Wo gestures and they come back to life. And we slay them. And he keeps doing it. He can't help himself, giggling. A wolverine man necromancer with impulse control issues is a worrying combination. When the dust settles, between us Wo and I have killed the same two dwarves 83 times and I am covered in cuts and bruises, and my ankle is badly broken. I decide to burn the corpses before Wo gets any more ideas.
The remaining journey to The Eternal Citadel is largely uneventful, save for an ambush by a polar bear. Wo quickly stabs it in the head with his spear.
2nd Sandstone 1069We arrive at the Citadel. I remember this place - I lived here for nearly 15 years and it is nice to see some familiar faces. I will rest here a while and tend to my wounds, before heading back north to Palacework. Wo is delighted... he scampers off trying to find Isk. For a while at least, life is good.
5th Hematite 1072Over two years have passed since we arrived here at the Citadel. Wo has settled down. He and Isk hit it right off, and now there are little wolverine people scampering around in the grass playing with the grizzly bears. It's time that I go to Palacework and my destiny.
