Collin's First Journal
First journal of Collin's story.
Day 1
(See also Game Session 2023-07-28.)
Took a Job for the City of San Seagull a little shit hole I landed in after the war. I mean it is not all bad, I got in a house of my own and I am in good with the city runners. Still, it is no Blue Gull Island, the Sangria is swill, and the Ouzo is worse. Bah. Anyway, I took the job to go make some new friends with some locals who were having problems getting along with the people working at a quarry for old Seagull.
The workers here seem nice, not very chatty though. They seem to think that the locals are “sea people”. I’m a sea people, maybe I will have an in with the locals. At night we decided to find where they were coming from. They sent me to scout ahead, I marked a trail as I crept towards where we thought their camp was. The camp was not that big, about 10 people in a crappy little shanty town. It was late so we went back and set out some traps and Bad Luck Bill and I put on an amazing show, really made the quarry work that night. The “sea people” never showed.
Day 2
(See also Game Session 2023-07-28.)
In the morning we set out to improve our set up. I found us a good spot to hide out in at night for an ambush, it was a really good rut. In the afternoon, the Dwarf took a nap, guess the sun is a bit much for the little cave dweller. Bad Luck Bill made some very nice Spritely Woodland Dragons out of items around camp. Being somewhat of an artisan myself I improved the Spritely Woodland Dragons with the addition of an artistic rendering of Thumor sitting astride one of the dragons out of the local wood. I even made it more authentic by borrowing the dwarf’s magic rock and working it into the carving. It fit nicely into the carving’s head area, oh did I mention the dwarf had been rolling around in the mud and found a fucking magic rock! He is an interesting little guy. Our Priest rallied the workers with a sermon on the stump, it was loud, angry, and only slightly less threatening than pointing his gun at the workers. He did that too. Either way I think some people are starting to listen to what he has to say. Something about Iron good, heretic bad, lets fill heretics with iron to make them good, or something like that, I was not listening. Well, I was trying too but Bill was seducing his spritely woodland dragons with a seductive song, I swear Bill kept learning at my carving of the dwarf during his performance. I mean, I couldn’t blame him, I do amazing work.
In the evening we took a nap to get ready for the night’s work. Well, all of us except the Dwarf, he was to busy fondling his magic rock. Dwarves, what can you do? I remember one visited Blue Gull Island when I was in port one day, the guy was obsessed with shells, the kids on the island made a gods damn fortune off that guy diving for the pretty shells to sell him. The dwarf could not swim, I think on account of them being part rock or something, they just sink.
After our nap, and the Thumor's rock fondling session we set our ambush. Most of us hid in the ditch I found. Except Bill, Bad Luck Bill became an elder horror. I am not sure how he managed it All I saw was him rolling in leaves, branches, dirt, some basket weaving and invocations to forest gods and he turned into some sort of plant creature. So, we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, the “sea people” showed up. Bad Luck Bill scared the shit out of them, something about old gods or something, but the Dwarf calmed them down. We tried to talk, I even put in a few friendly words, somehow things went south. See, if these were real sea folk we could have worked together, because us sea folk as my new friends call us are good friendly people. These people we were sent to deal with are something else, some sort of land folk that talk funny. Anyway, there was a fight, and we took care of them. Too bad they were so aggressive we could have gotten along. Back to camp for some rest.
Day 4
(See also Game Session 2023-09-22.)
The Dwarf talked to Foreman into giving us some extra guys to go clear out what was left of the camp. You know Thumor is not bad at talking to people, I can see why he is good in business. I should listen to him more, maybe pick up some stuff before I get my business going. Bill tried to help in his own way by attempting to seduce the Foreman. It looked like Bill almost got lucky, well at least he still had his spritely woodland dragons, maybe it is a plant man thing. You should have heard the priest; he got back on his stump and told them all how fucked they were if they did not kiss his gun. I worked on a project for the evening. It was a modular dwarf decoy, I can tell Lorenzo, one of the workers was super impressed. I will have to send him a carving after we are done with this. Afterall, what are friends for. Later that day I made a devious net out of some rope I had, with that and my decoy I was ready. That night on the way to the camp to clear it, we noticed we were followed. I vanished without a sound and slipped behind the people following us, I snuck up on one of them and thumped him good, not a peep. Good night sweet Carl, sleep well. I tried to knock out the second guy but that did not work out so well. So, another fight, I tell you it is very handy to have Pontiffs to bless them with iron shot and a plant man who loves dragons on your side, oh and Thumor did stuff too, I think he waved around his magic rock or something.
It was late, we were sleepy, so the priest prayed for coffee, and it worked! Well, I mean we did not get any of the bean juice we just caught a second wind, I think. We made it to the camp and there were just two guys there, who we got the jump on.
Day 5
(See also Game Session 2023-09-22, Game Session 2023-10-27.)
It was late or was it early? I tied up the people while Pontiffs and Thumor searched the camp. The priest looked like he was ready to steal everything but decided to stick to his morals and not find anything of value. Thumor, used his magic dwarf eyes to search through the night, did you know they can see in the fucking dark! I mean that is crazy. Anyway, the dwarf found some old lady in a cave, stole her stick and bashed her head in with it, all because he wanted some shiny rock stuck on the end of it. Remind me not to pick up a pretty rock around the little fuck. I mean I like the guy and all but he will murder you for a shiny pebble. Anyway, the dwarf must have felt bad because him and the priest tried to patch the old bitty up. I helped by tying her up, don’t want her to try to bash our head in the night. Time for bed
Later that night during the third watch my plan worked. The two prisoners escaped just as I planned. I mean why else would I have tied such overly complicated but loose knots. So, these 2 think they got the slip on us, but I follow them, it would have been perfect, but see unlike the dwarf I was not raised in a cave so I can not see in the dark and there were clouds and stuff blocking the moon light so the prisoners somehow knew when I was there and stepped on branch, maybe it was cause I said shit loudly when it happened but how was I supposed to know they could hear in the dark like a dwarf. Anyway, that aint no matter see cause like any good sailor I am quick on my feet.
The others catch up with me on account of me going slower than I have too. See, I had this clever fucking plan to let them think they got away and follow them to wherever they are going. I mean the big base has to be around here somewhere. So I tell the others my plan and we all kinda run poorly to give the prisoners a bit of a lead so they feel comfortable. You know what, it fucking works better than a well tied bowline knot. Trust me, I know a good knot.
So we follow them aways to this forested area. The three go in and we follow soon after, you know what we find. A whole fuckin walled town, in the middle of this shitty little forest. I mean it is bad enough all these people wanting to live miles from the sea but I mean in the middle of the forest! Our mothers did not raise no fools, well actually in my case it was the captain. Fools on a ship soon fall off and all that. We headed back to town to tell the foreman.
Day 6
(See also Game Session 2023-10-27.)
We head back to town, takes all morning to get there. The other guys report to the foreman and I decided to interrogate the old lady. Oh, did I mention we picked her up on the way back. I gave her something to eat and put a cowl on her on account that it was cold enough to frost the sea. Turns out her people were just trying to frighten us off. I think I will carve her something if I get a chance, maybe after I take care of Lorenzo. Of course then Pontiffs shows up and starts screaming at the old lady, something about being a foolish back water heathen worshipping piss puddles in tree forts. I think he wants to raze the village. So could not get much out of the old lady after that.
That night Pontiffs gave another sermon on the stump. Not sure if he is scaring or inspiring the works, not such which one he wants either sometimes. Thumor decided to play with his magic rock in the furnace. I am not sure were Bad Luck Bill was, maybe off doing forest got stuff or molesting some spritely forest dragons. I spent my time making a highly stylized replica of the old lady’s, er I mean, Thumor’s stick.
Day 7
(See also Game Session 2023-11-24.)
So, we talked about if we should stick around or report back to Seagull. We decided to stay and search the camp. Pontiff tried to give a sermon about how Iron is the support that holds us all up and crushes the infidel. Before breakfast, well the worker’s breakfast. I mean them religious folk need to eat and the rain made it a little more theatric and it helped to wash some of the mustard off Pontiffs shirt. It did not go over well. While all that was going on I had my breakfast and went to hunt some wood so I can make Lorenzo some carvings, but it was raining and there weren’t much good wood around. The best piece I could find was pitted and knotted. Thumor played with his magical rock. It seemed to go about as well as my wood search. I never seen someone try to forge something by pouring melted magic rock into muddy ground, but what the fuck do I know, I’m not a dwarf. They got them secret ways.
Bad Luck Bill, eldritch horror and keeper of the spritely woodland dragons talked to the foreman about getting the laborers to help us search the old camp. Using his mystical arts he conjured magical stones and a staff. Offering these to the foreman in trade for the help searching the camp. The foreman was unimpressed and turned down Bad Luck Bill’s advances and request for more men.
That afternoon it was just us heading back to the camp to search the cave. Bill used his deep forest knowledge to sing to the trees to put us on the path back to the camp. I, like most sailors, have an excellent sense of direction that kept us heading in the right direction. Pontiffs and Thumor kept us from falling into stuff like ditches and poison oak. Did you know that there is a poisonous type of oak. Like it was not enough being a tree, it had to try to kill the animals around it too. We did make it to the cave, which was much warmer, dryer and a little bloody than the rainy outside. I thought I saw one of the old lady’s teeth on the ground.
That night Thumor and I scrounged up some makeshift touches. Back Luck Bill and the Pontiffs looked over our food supply. I am sure it went well, I mean it has to right? We wouldn’t want to eat anything bad in this shitty cave where gas won’t escape. This food tastes funny. Thumor decrees that none shall shit in our sleeping cave.
Later that night during Bad Luck Bill’s watch while he was attempting to build up the fire through use of personal gas Bill hears some laughter or maybe it was the echoes of his gassy attempts to grow the fire coming from further into the cave. Bill wanders off to figure out what it was. He went and found himself some sort of weird room. It had a glass dome that showed the sky, it was clear out and missing a few moons. It only had 2. Who ever heard of a night with only 2 moons, I mean I get that you do not always see all 13 but who only see two?
We woke up to a stinky ass gas filled cave and no Bill. So I do the smart thing and tie us to each other with some rope. Good thing too cause Pontiffs got us lost. At least we are together in this shitty cave. Speaking of shitty caves while we were lost Bill dug wholes in his cave and emptied his guts in most of the holes he dug, he dug a lot of holes.
By the afternoon Bill was sleeping while we found ourselves in a weird part of the cave. There were some old scribbles on the walls in some weird language. Pontiffs and Thumor stare at this shit like mermaid tits, see what reading does to you. I decided to help out and drew a map on a blank spot of the wall. It was a glorious map, I am convinced it is an excellent map that will lead us to Bill.
By the evening we found Bill. He was singing and covered with dirt and shit. Bill moved towards us with arms out for a hug but decided it would not be worth getting past the blades and guns pointed at him by his friends when he tries. So no hugs, but hey that map I made really seemed to help and we made it to the horrific room with not enough moons.
