What the future holds for Trump

(Written on the 27th of Feb, 2017 - My Trump News addiction now unstoppable!)

If someone with no experience had run for, and won, the biggest job in the world as President of the United States and they had no experience of politics at all then perhaps it would be workable if  they were a good person.
If they were a billionaire, say, with no experience, but with a good heart and a clean consicence then perhaps they would be up to the job. They would have a tough time, for sure, but with hard work and  integrity then it would probably be ok.

Donald Trump is not a good man. He is not even an average man. He is clearly a pretty bad man.

This is my prediction then, based on the way things are going at the moment (28/02/2017) that his presidency will not last the year. I would almost go as far to say he'll be dead by the end of the year, and probably by his own hand. Here is why.

Now, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the ludicrous wall along the border of Mexico and the unconstitutional Muslim Ban are all disasters. They are political disasters though and for a man as thick headed as Trump possibly survivable. Most likely they will all get blocked and ammended and  when his core voters get pissed off that he renaged on all of his promises he will blame the Democrats, the media, the protestors, everyone and anyone other than himself. Of course.

His ties with Russia, on the other hand, are criminal and likely treasonable. As well as not being a good man, Trump is not a clever man. It's amazing, considering the amount he has done and the amount that is being dug up that he has lasted as long as it has, but it is only a matter of time.
Not even a clever man could wipe out the crooked path that lead him to the White House, fate is  catching up with Donald.

If like me you watch all the US news channels with ever increasing horror you know that the left leaning media are digging and digging and what they are digging up stinks.

There are rich pickings. Ties to Russian oligarchs like Dmitry Rybolovlev. Deutcshe Bank. Ties to  shadowy middle men and cronies of the Kremlin like Paul Manfort.
The 'dodgey dossier' of blackmail material against Trump is now looking like stone cold facts and not  conspiracy theory stuff. The White House, the FBI and CIA are leaking and leaking, and as more informaiton comes to light the extent of the corruption is astounding.

Forget Watergate, this is just about the biggest political scandal in US history of all time and it's hardly got started yet. Putin dropped a hand grenade in the White House and once it all comes to light the consequences will be... well, right now I find that part of it hard to predict, but whatever happens you can bet it will move the doomsday clock another minute closer to midnight.

Putting aside the stuff that hasn't been fully proven or investigated yet there is plenty of evidence in plain sight. Look at cabinet picks like Mike Ryan, Rex Tillerson and Wilbur Ross. Men who if not  out-and-out Putin stooges are at the very least highly favourable to Russia.

As the scandal deepens, Trump will have nowhere left to hide. Mark my words, he'll be lucky to get  away with impeachment.

If and when he is impeached then the real investigations will begin and the level of treasonable activity will come to light. Putin won't want him, so what's left for Trump? If he does top himself in Mar-A-Lago some time this year then I won't be surprised!

(G306 04/02/2017 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM), MJ, HK) SS17

(G306 04/02/2017 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM), MJ, HK) SS17

[Don't blame me! We are running two games now...]

Deary me, I seem to have my notes all in a muddle again. Rollo here, I seem to have written some  of my notes on the back of transcripts that came into my possession that were penned by the famous Pedestal detective...

[Merlock Tomes continues his report]


DAY 278 (13th Nightal)(December) cont ...

I lay in wait at the bottom of the stairs unseen and unchallenged by those brave adventurer's that it was my duty to observe. Fenrir the warlock, Dwerry the sorceress, Durz the Barbarian, Billitoppe the gnomish scout and Arahel the shapeshifting druid.

It was eleven o'clock in the evening now and they appeared to still think that the room they were in was a good place to rest.

This so irritated me, their insistence on camping out in a room with five exits, that I arranged a little surprise for them and lured a gang of marauding skum up from the bowels of the Spike to go and harass them. These were agents of Imaug the Aboleth and I whispered to them, and thus to Imaug himself that the warlock he had nearly snared on Oceanbridge was within his grasp once again. In truth I would be just as happy to see the skum all dead as Imaug is no friend of House Dusklorn.

Initially Fenrir talked them out of attacking. He has a very silver tongue that one and he used it to convince the leader of the skum that he was not the warlock they were after. The leader sent two of his followers to scout ahead, but one came running back chased by an Entomber and a Wraith from the graveyard that lay beyond the room they were all in.

The battle was swift and deadly, Dwerry killed four skum with a single fireball! Arahel decided to play dead, wishing to not waste her energy on an easy fight I assume, while the others killed and chased off the skum, blasted the Entomber to nothing and killed off the wraith the magic missiles.

After that they rolled up into their bedrolls again.

DAY 279 (14th Nightal)(December)

By three in the morning I was bored, so it was with some small happiness I noticed Jajob the Drider had been sent up from below to investigate and report back to House Dusklorn. He had ten or so of his big spiders in attendance. I warned him that the adventurer's camped out in the room above were pretty dangerous but he decided to take a look anyway and squeezed past all the corpses of vampire spawn and skum blocking the stairs.

He came back with his hair singed and all his spiders dead. I gave him a 'told you so' look and he snarled at me as he went back to his lair to wash up and wrangle up more spiders for his entourage.

I continued my vigil and at ten in the morning they were attacked by a gang of gargoyles from the graveyard. This had nothing to do with me, it was purely because they were camped in one of the busiest areas of the Spike.

The gargoyles attacked with acid jars and tanglefoot bags, but were soon either slain or chased off like all the others.

By eleven their magic users were rested enough to continue and they ventured into the graveyard and robbed the mausoleum that was in the right hand corner.

After some skulking about in the corridors around their camp room they found a secret door that lead them up to the 'over look' a small cliff that looked over the graveyard. Here a giant  Desiccator and an undead illithid (a forlorn husk) attacked them.

This was probably their most challenging battle so far as the Desiccator really hammered into Durz and did him a lot of damage. The illithid was quickly dealt with but it took a while to kill the powerful giant.

After that they searched the caves behind the overlook but did not find much.

(G305 28/01/2017 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, MJ) RL3

(G305 28/01/2017 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, MJ) RL3

 And so we entered the town of Barovia, myself, Mr B, Sylvia, Yli and Tie-Pie.

The first thing we saw, looming out of the fog between the buildings was what looked like three zombies. Sylvia used her spiritual powers to turn them away from us though and they ran off back into the murky streets.

Tie-pie then cast a Fireball spell that exploded above them, lighting up the mist in a most spectacular fashion. Meanwhile, off down a side alley Mr B had found an undead witch sort of thing and started worrying at it. Sylvia turned it as well, making it cower away from us in the dead end of the alley.

From the other direction came some strange large rat creatures, but they were no threat really as by this time I'd summoned up a squad of bears (giving the crocodiles a rest!) and they went and killed the witch and protected us from the rats. With the bears and the flaming sphere that Tie-Pie had summoned and the deadly arrows of Yli they were all soon dealt with.

Once things had settled down and all the undead were now properly dead, it seemed that Tie-Pie was in the mood for some mischief. A chaotic sort of fellow I think, and since I had been instructed to be more like him by my elders and betters I joined in the fun.

It started with him edging his sphere ever closer to me, enough to singe the corner of my cloak. I stepped back, but he kept the sphere on me, so in return I ordered my bears to do a 'Bear Pile On'. All five grappled him to the ground and jumped on him until he was under a massive pile of fur.

Well, after less than a minute the sphere and the bears dispelled and that was the end of that.

We carried on up the street and tried a door to our left. It contained two zombies which Tie-Pie and Yli quickly killed off with magical rays and arrows. I cast Hypothermia on one to finish it off. These were more powerful undead than your average zombie it appeared to me.

I decided it was best just to leave the doors alone and bid us all continue into the centre of town. Through the mist we saw a body lying on the road. As we got closer two large maggot type things rushed at us from the body and attacked.

As battle was joined, more undead nasties joined in, zombies from left and right and flying skulls (Vargouilles I think, like the ones we'd met in the Plane of Shadow). It was a full on assault as we shot back with arrows, magic, clerical magic and bears. There was so much going on  that there was hardly any room to add yet more bears into the carnage so I simply struck out at the  nearest enemies with my scimitar.

Tie-Pie shot the skulls out of the sky with his scorching rays and we rest took on the maggots and zombies. Once he'd dealt with the skulls Tie-Pie cast a Confusion spell in the direction of the remaining undead but the only thing he succeeded in confusing was poor Mr Badger.

He charged up and down the street at top speed, not knowing what to do, snapping at Tie-Pie whenever he rushed past him. In the end though, one of my bears killed the last dire maggot and Mr B recovered. The battle over, we continued on our way.

Good and Evil do not come with labels

Good and Evil do not come with labels

I started to write this at the weekend when the ban came in. It's now the first of February and thankfully the things that I wanted to be said have already been said by the likes of Amber Judd etc. I'll add my voice anyway.

I don't speak for any other Muslim than myself. I converted in 2005, I was completely indifferent to religion prior to that point and I'm still pretty chilled out about it, but after 12 years I identify with and understand Islam pretty well I think. I feel I am a Muslim, let's put it that way.

Us Muslims you know, vary from country to country. Moderate Muslims (like me) from countries such as Indonesia differ from Muslims in Saudi Arabia about the same as a Catholic differs from a Mormon. You can't lump us all into one group. Got that?
You get good and bad Muslims of course, but you get good and bad Christians. The Muslims I know, they want the same thing Christians want, the same thing everyone wants, to life a good happy life.
They chat to people on facebook.
They meet their friends and hang out.
They have all the same hopes and dreams as everyone else.
They know the difference between right and wrong.
They have modern, progressive ways of thinking.
They are not defined by their religion any more than your standard man off the Western street may or may not define himself as a Christian.

I would also like to point out what a red herring Sharia Law is. The far right like to point at it and say that all Muslims want to push Sharia Law onto the world. That's bollocks. I don't for sure. The majority of Muslims don't care, they follow local national laws like everyone else. And where Sharia Law is used, as often as not is does good, helping women divorce abusive husbands for instance.

Another red herring is headscarves. Now, I don't know about all Muslim nations and all Muslim women, so I can only base this observation on the Muslim women that I know. They do not choose to wear a head scarf because they care what men think. Like most women of any religion they choose how they dress based on what other women might think! The head scarf is a choice taken by the women by themselves. Trends in headscarf use come and go. Also, I know women that are so used to wearing headscarves they feel uncomfortable going outside without one on. Rather like going out without trousers on I imagine, and no one wants that.

Forget the extremists, I don't know any, but from your average sampling of Muslims you may find the occasional  one that will argue for a certain way of behaving or a certain way of doing things, but is that any different from a Christian expressing the opinion that people should live life by the Bible?

So, moving on, I like America, I like it's history, I like how it mostly tries to be a good moral nation. I like your literature and your culture. You are honestly a good bunch.

This Muslim Ban though, it doesn't make you look good. People are now aware, as it has been said  already by politicans and pundits, that by putting into place this hasty and ill-conceived ban you have  played straight into the hands of ISIS and other extremists. They must be delighted!

Are you bunch of fannies in the White House right now really that dumb? Or are you trying to spark off a religious war? In a situation like that even moderate peaceful Muslims would become your enemy. What then? Round them up into camps like the Japanese Americans in World War II? Think it through. Unless you already have and this is what you want of course in which case these words are obviously wasted.

To end then, if you really wanted to make America safe, you would not marginalise the 3.3 million Muslims in your country. Whether you like it or not, Islam is a world religion and is here to stay.
We are not your enemy.

In case you are not aware of this fact, 15,000 Americans were killed in shootings last year. Don't you think that's rather a large number? Wouldn't that make any rational person think that something should be done? I'm sure the 2nd Amendment is important to Americans, but maybe some sort of check on people just to be sure they are not mentally ill? What's the measure here? Americans are ok about being killed by other Americans but not by foreigners?

Well, we know there is no political currency in that direction eh? There are no votes in tackling gun control. There are lots of votes in victimising the strange and the foreign though. Truth and logic are just not a factor.

This is the politics of anger, fear and ingorance. At the risk of invoking Godwin's Law here, who else do we know that rose to power on the back of that?

...

Uhh one last thing...

Some Fox News chap (Hannity was it?) said something along the lines of home owners have a right to have a lock on their front door, it is a crime to fit a burglar alarm etc etc. OK, then, to follow that analogy through; what if the person at your front door is a cold and hungry child? You leave them outside to die on your doorstep? Think about it, honestly, imagine going on national TV and saying something like that.

(G304 21/01/2017 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, MJ) RL2

(G304 21/01/2017 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, MJ) RL2


DAY 341 (8th Alturaik)(February) cont ...

We spent the evening eating and chatting in the Weary Horse Inn. Yli and Tie-Pie got to swapping old tales between themselves and Sylvia was deep in thought, so out of boredom as much as anything else I went over and talked to another lady in the common room.

She appeared to be a dark elf of stunning beauty. I'd not really talked to one before and she seemed happy enough to converse. She was dressed in black and red velvet and wore expensive looking jewelry. She had white hair and red eyes. At the table she was reading a book and drinking wine.
I introduced myself and she told me she was Sinrik of House Ilvaadrida. She was from the Underdark and I was greatly interested to hear as much about the place as I could. She told me her family had fallen on bad times and she was looking for her long lost sister. She was reading a book called 'The Fall of the Reaper' and she told me a little of it, it was an epic tale involving ancient heroes of her House apparently.

Well, we got on like a house on fire and when she offered me a drink in her room I found it impossible to refuse. I checked that Sylvia wasn't watching (she was talking to a dwarf warrior at the bar) and snuck upstairs with Sinrik.

It was a very pleasant tryst indeed. I do wonder though, do all dark elves laugh so much during the act? Well, anyway, later I did feel some guilt about what I had done, considering I am a married man,  but then again my wife was by now probably at the other end of Faerune and would never find out.

DAY 342 (9th Alturaik)(February)

In the morning Syvlia tore into me, having found out about Sinrik. Indeed, she found out from a letter Sinrik had left her before leaving. I wonder if all dark elf women behave this way?

Well, I told a bunch of lies and I think Sylvia believed me.

We left the Inn at eight in the morning. I asked a few questions of the innkeeper before we left and told me that it would take about half a day to get to Barovia and he recommened a tavern ther for us.

I was somewhat disturbed by something that happened on the trip. Tie-pie stopped for no reason and acted very suspiciously. We carried on, but I turned into a raven and went back to watch him. He had seen a treasure chest half buried in the snow and bushes by the side of the road, behind the trees and proceeded to stuff his pockets with platinum and small valueable art works.

I flew back and reported to the others on my return. Now, it customery to share treasure that is found in such away, indeed I have done so myself several times, but for whatever reason Tie-pie decided not to. I resolved to say nothing for the moment.

We arrived at the outskirts of Barovia, but something was very wrong here indeed. The fog was thicker than at the Weary Horse Inn so I could not scout as an eagle, but we could all smell carrion and I heard the distant sounds of swords.
We left Gevyen in charge of the cart and cautiously entered by the main road. We saw no one, but I did see large claw marks on the doors of the houses. There were burnt buildings here and there and an overturned hay cart blocking the street. Dense fog was everywhere.
What had happened here?

(G303 14/01/2017 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, MJ) RL1

(G303 14/01/2017 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, MJ) RL1



[Apologies dear reader. I must skip ahead now, at some point I will complete my chronicling of Fenrir and Co's adventures in the Underdark, but for now I will here record my latest adventures]
[GM note - don't blame me! The days of the game changed and now we are running two campaigns again]


I've left my main journal back at home and now have this 'travel' one. Here is a a quick run down of what has happened so far:

On my return to Waterdeep I approached the Font of Knowledge (via Nestoone) to give them a copy of my notes on my observations of the Plane of Shadows.

They gratefully received my essays and put me in touch with the powerful druids of the Circle of the Land. I should explain that this is a society of druids that work more closely with non-druid society (unlike the Circle of the Moon who are very secretive).

I had a meeting with the Circle of the Land druids in a grove deep in Ardeep Forest and I must say I found them a bit naggy and annoying.

They were very impressed with the part I played in defeating Despayr and saving the Vast Swamp and all that sort of thing but warned that since I had been so 'law abiding' during it all I was in danger of skewing my alignment and losing my druidic powers. This came as a shock to me and I pointed out that without at least one of the people involved in the whole thing being sensible it would have descended into chaos and disaster. You may remember I had to contend with the erratic behaviour of Gurudor, Drashnag, Basil, Mirabella etc etc.

The chief of them, an ancient old fellow named Sildair Tanpo accepted this but warned me none the less. Another Elder known as Chimal Luje warned me that when using 'Summon Natures Ally' spells I should give consideration to the surroundings and the 'natural fit' of the creatures. For example, he said, crocodiles are fine in the jungle's of Chult, but jarringly out of place in city streets. I remained silent at this and merely nodded. I did not want to offend the old fellow, but simply put, there are not many foes that can stand up to a wave of angry crocodiles.

So anyway, I returned to the Kryptgarden Estate resolving to be less law abiding, perhaps do a few more chaotic things.

With this in mind, when I heard that Sylvia, back in Waterdeep told me that Yli was organising another adventure I leapt at the chance. I'll show you, Tanpo you old fart, I thought to myself. Let's bring the chaos!

So I flapped down and met them all in the tavern, Yli and an old friend of his called Tie-Pie had met a scholar called Gevyen Tallmer who was looking for someone to take him to Damara.
Of course, he had met the perfect people because I knew through Corum and Cavu of a route through a yuan-ti snake gate which would cut the journey by more than half. We arranged it all that very night and although I had drunk quite a lot I didn't expect my wife to be quite so angry with me when I returned.

'But darling!' I cried. 'Another adventure. Think of it, we had so much... well not fun... but you know.
In Cormyr and the Plane of Shadow.'
'Don't you dare! You tell Sylvia to count you out! You promised we would go back to Sasserine this year!'
'But sugar-pie, I'm a druid, these are the things I have to do, we would be back in a few months.'
'You made a promise! I'm certainly not going with you. I'll charter the Sea Wyvern and go back myself.'

Well, it went on like that for a couple of days and got no better. In the end she stormed off to Waterdeep to charter the Wyvern as she threatened and with a heavy heart I joined the others to begin our quest.
I was going to my wife terribly, but what could I do? Being a druid was my calling and travelling was in  my essence. I hoped it wouldn't take too long, so I could join her in Sasserine and make amends somehow though.

The expedition was going to be led by Tallmer, who would be paying for most of the passage, with me, Sylvia, Yli and Tie-Pie.

Like Billitoppe, Durz and Arahel we made it pretty quickly to Hommlet, then the Moat House and the
Devil's Brew tavern. As the dungeon under the tavern had been cleared reasonably recently we had no great  problem with it. Also, since Karhad and Erin Ja were not around we had no issues in the tavern itself  either.
Unlike Billitoppe, Durz and Arahel we had no difficulty navigating the Thar. Having a druid in the group was handy for us. Well, Arahel is a druid of course so then let's just say, having a druid in the  group that can read a map and cast 'Lay of the Land' was handy for us.

We reached Melvaunt, then took a ship along the north coast of the Moonsea and the various large rivers east of Iron Fang. It was a lovely journey, it being the later part of winter many parts of the river were frozen over. The vessel we were on was an ice breaker and chewed its way up through  the snow and ice.
We saw little more than snow covered mountains and the occasional fortified dwelling.
Spectacular but uneventful.

We arrived at Heliogabalus, Tallmer hired a cart, a driver and some horses and we made our way north on the road to Ironspur.

Finally we arrived at the Weary Horse Inn. Here I now sit updating my notes and sorting out my journal.
Just to explain, my last 'adventure' ended on the 22nd of Uktar (DAY 256) and the last notes I have written down for Fenrir and his gang at the Necromancer's Spike was on the 13th of Nightal (DAY 278).
It is now 8th Alturaik (DAY 341) of the year 1374 DR.

Just for information here is my journal entry from 20th Hammer 1375 DR.

DAY 312 (20th Hammer 1375 DR)(January)

This was the fateful night I met Sylvia, Yli and Tie-pie in a tavern near Sylvia's house in Waterdeep.
Now, I had been splitting my time recently between my family estate in Kryptgarden and the refugee  camp at Hova Farm, but after my recent meeting with the 'Circle of the Land' I was in search of  adventure again and it had lead me to this night.

Sylvia, you know, is my second cousin and occasional arch rival. Yli was a fellow companion when we had killed the dragon Despayr in the Plane of Shadow. He was with his fried Tie-Pie, a half-elf sorcerer from Silvery Moon.

They had been hired by the scholar Gevyen Tallmer to help get him to Damara. They wished me to join them. Tallmer was a tall, gaunt and thin man with glasses. He explained that he had learned from ancient texts of some relics of the Morning Lord (the god Lythander) that were in a remote region of the land of Damara. They were guarded by two sects, the  Ecaterine monks and the Knights of the Raven.
He wished, more than all things, to set his eyes on them. These relics were, apparently, a Holy Symbol that shined like the sun and a weapon known as the Sunblade.

He had found that these items were in the remote town of Barovia, in the Galena Mountains in the north of Damara, a few days journey from the Iron Spur.


[Now dear reader we are all up to date! Here now presented below are my journal entries pertaining to my adventures in Damara]

DAY 341 (8th Alturaik)(February)

Arrived in the tavern called the Weary Horse Inn this evening. The snow is thick on the ground outside but it is not too cold in here.

It took seven days to get here from Heliogabalus, but the journey was uneventful and the roads very quite. This far north, not many people are abroad in winter unless their need is most urgent, or they are foolhardy adventurers on a quest.

Gevyen hired a cart, horses and a driver to get us here. We were now only half a day away from our goal, the town of Barovia.

As we arrived at the inn, it was dark, still being winter, and thick fog was creeping across the land. The Weary Horse was a warm and welcoming place compared to the bitter cold outside. The inn was subdued and there were not many folk about.

While we were ordering food and drink for our evening meal a messenger entered the inn, cast his eyes about the place then came and said to us,
'Barovia needs heroes! You four will do.'

And with that he dropped a letter on the table and left. I picked up the letter and read it. It was a most singular tale...


""
I am The Ancient, I am The Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand.

…

All goodness slipped from my life; I found my youth and strength gone and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god’s grace or justice. I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.

…

From the families of the valley, one spirit shone above all others. A rare beauty, who was called “perfection,” “joy,” and “treasure.” Her name was Tatyana and I longed for her to be mine. I loved her with all my heart. I loved her for her youth. I loved her for her joy. But she spurned me! “Old One” was my name to her – “elder” and “brother” also. Her heart went to Sergei. They were betrothed. The date was set.

…

With words she called me “brother,” but when I looked into her eyes they reflected another name – “death.” It was the death of the aged that she saw in me. She loved her youth and enjoyed it. But I had squandered mine. The death she saw in me turned her from me. And so I came to hate death, my death. My hate is very strong: I would not be called “death” so soon. I made a pact with Vol, a pact of Blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood, his…divinity.

I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the Chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her! I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.

It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Not even I know her final fate.

Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but I did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.

…

I have studied much since then. “Vampyr” is my new name. I still lust for life and youth, and I curse the living that took them from me. Even the sun is against me. it is the sun and light I fear the most. But little else can harm me now. Even a stake through my heart does not kill me, though it holds me from movement. But the sword, that cursed sword that Sergei brought! I must dispose of that awful tool! I fear and hate it as much as the sun.

…

I have learned much, too, about this land of Barovia. Ancient are its ways, ancient beyond the knowledge  of the simple folk of the valley. A ancient saints dwelt in this valley long before my coming, and three  hidden fanes still give tribute to their memories. I visited the Swamp Fane, the Forest Fane, and the  Mountain Fane, and claimed their power for my own. Their servants now serve me, and thus I have become the Land.

…

I have often hunted for Tatyana. I have even felt her within my grasp, but she escapes me! She taunts me! She taunts me! What will it take to bend her love to me? I now reside far below Ravenloft. I live among  the dead and sleep beneath the very stones of this hollow castle of despair. I shall seal shut the walls of the stairs that none may disturb me.


"

Well, the messenger had long gone by the time I'd read the letter of course. Vampires! Well, well, well. My brother and Fenrir had had dealings with a vampire when they were in Darknessdeep (or maybe a demon  pretending to be a vampire, not sure on that one) and from what I knew of folklore (and Sylvia's suspect tales about Random the Robber who stole a treasure horde right from under the noses of a castle full of them) and such they were fascinating beings. I looked forward to meeting a fellow journal writer!

(G301 17/12/16 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM), MJ, HK, NG) SS15

(G301 17/12/16 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM), MJ, HK, NG) SS15

DAY 277 (12th Nightal)(December) cont...

[Merlock Tomes continues his report]

And so I, Merlock Tomes, acting on behalf of my masters in House Dusklorn continued to follow the trail of destruction left by the group of adventurers known locally as the 'Buffalo Bunch'.

The evidence in the kitchen was that at this point they were joined by Billitoppe. This  resourceful gnome must have been the source of the small tunnel I had discovered in the 'Advisor's Room'. I should imagine he purchased a Potion of Burrowing from Es Sarch back at the Dripstone Inn.

Together with the others (Fenrir the Warlock, Durz the Barbarian, Dwerry the Sorceress and Arahel the Druidess) they entered into combat with the denizens of the kitchen. These were two large Ghoul Mimics that were disguised as shelves and five Tomb Motes, smaller undead beings made from bones and ash. It was a chaotic and desperate struggle, items of kitchen equipment were strewn everywhere. The Ghoul Mimics fight by sticking to people so I can only imagine the confusion.

Still, the undead creatures were all slain in the end and from what I see from following the trails of blood, the 'Bunch' then returned to the Guard Room to rest.

Now, as I also discovered myself, the tower of Maroe is full of apparitions and spectral phenomena. As they rested, every hour or so they were disturbed by spirits entering the room and screaming, or some similar disruption.

Despite all the interruptions from this sort of thing they spent the rest of the day in this room.

DAY 278 (13th Nightal)(December)

From my hiding place in the Shrine I heard them leave the Guard Room and enter the secret room they had found behind the kitchen. This led up some stairs to the Charnel Pits area of the Spike.

This consists of a long walkway across two deep pits full of corpses. Here they were attacked by a Flesh Golem as well as swarms of Bone Rats and Corpse Rats.

Fenrir picked up Dwerry and carried her while she shot at their enemies with Magic Missiles. Arahel turned into a giant beetle and was soon covered in the swarming rats, tossing them hither and thither with her armour plated horns, stamping and squashing. Slowly she broke up the swarms with her bulk.

Billitoppe and Durz took on the golem and while Durz held it off the gnome shot it with two deadly arrows that were enough to finish it off. I was impressed as I once saw a Golem take on a horde of Inheritors. The Inheritors fired scores of arrows and the thing was a pin cushion but still standing. Even with twenty or more arrows in its hide it still killed all of the fish and frog people. This gnome, with his mental powers focused into his missiles, killed the golem with two arrows. Remarkable!