"Moldath II", Part III, Turn 638th Galena 826 I feel different. I am now a Fell One, wielder of terrible magic. My years of exile and chastisement are over. I set off west, free of the prophets false name and now bearing Godenrigoth and Uklasut. Although I feel no guilt or pain at killing the stupid human, I will endeavour to complete his misguided quest, and return the slab to its “rightful” owner.
A short distance away, I am ambushed by wolves, and get to practice my swordcraft. I spend a night in the hospitality of the humans of Spongypriest, a castle, but leave at dawn lest I outstay my welcome.
I chance upon a small bandit camp and the frail leader goblin does not see me as I silently choke her throat, and drain her foul blood. It feels like months since I had fresh blood and I am interested to find that my undead body still thirsts.
I travel the wildnerness for days, searching for the hamlet Releaseteachers, where Kajeth told methe Coven of Frothing are based.
11th Galena 826 Eventually, I arrive at Releaseteachers. A few humans live here, and to the north east, is the mead hall.
I open the doors and greet the lady, Lubbe Iliddirlu, keeper of the mead hall The Dangerous Blocks, and previously Holy Raunch of the Coven of Frothing. She is now the Lady of this town and a devout follower of Ala.
I gift the slab to the lady and she is overcome with joy, and makes me a hearthperson.
She requests that I slay a night creature terrorising the town from a lair to the north, and I head out at once. I stop at the fort of Faintscuffed, and the soldiers there tell me where to find the night creature, in its lair of Shadyumbral.
I find the hatch covering the lair and creep inside.
I spot the beast, a bleak freak, with stretched wings. It moves with uneven jerking motions. I make quick work of it with my scimitar and carve out its skull as a trophy to show Lubbe. In its den are the bones of an elf, and I make myself a nice elf bone ring.
13th Galena 826 I return to Releaseteachers and put the skull of the bleak freak Ura Sablefated the Shadows of Oblivion on display there. Lubbe grins nervously at me.
I leave and head west... I need to find a dwarven settlement for armour and clothes to replace my simple rags. The towns and castles here have only outsized human gear
Perhaps I should return to that cursed island where I was tortured and chained, to see if they have any armour I could steal. It would also be nice to claim back the scrolls I authored there... the only good memories I have of Ancientknowledge.
Late in the afternoon, I arrive at the shore of the Worshipful Jungle, and across the sea I can make out the island where I was imprisoned for so long...
I begin my long swim.
14th Galena 826 I make landfall as dawn breaks, startling a crab.
I arrive at the fort from the north, and scout the area. It all feels so different now my vision is restored.
A short while later I spot two pristine steel arrows in a neat pile. The arrows are not dwarven craft, and look suspiciously like the steel arrows that were embedded in my body when I arrived at this prison. I take these mementoes of my past life and stow them in the great white shark leather backpack I borrowed from Kajeth. He certainly didn’t need it any more.
The island is densely forested, and crossbow bolts are scattered around. I chance upon an outdoor farm plot growing grape vines of all things... how undwarven!
Past the farm lies the entrance to the fort, and the trade depot is packed with seeds of various fruits and an unusual number of statues depicting a small violent kobold.
I press on through the fort and enter the library, and greet the scholars there. Some seem to recognise me, but eye me nervously. If they are perturbed by my new deathly form and sense of purpose, they do their best to not let on. I scan their faces, searching for any flicker of fear. Blind as I was, I cannot be sure which of these cowards was responsible for chaining me or beating me, and I resist the urge to slaughter them all. Above all, Dwarves are my kin, and I try to cool my burning rage.
In the bookcases there, I spot "Life with the Wind", a beaver parchment scroll written by myself! I stow it in my pack.
Further into the fort I spot the Countess Aban Ochredrill, who seems to be reading "Mysteries of the Year", an emu parchment scroll, again written by myself when I was incarcerated here.
Wanting to avoid violence, I trade her a masterwork slate earring that I looted from a fort decades ago for the tome, which she is glad to accept.
I spend a while reading in the library before chancing upon an artefact steel spear, just lying on the floor unguarded. Dancetorch the Past Uncertainty was wielded by a foul ettin, who lost his life in this fort.
I slip the spear into my pack. Sadly, despite a thorough search, no dwarven armour is to be found.
I leave the fort and search the small island - and immediately I run into a huge draltha, Kawegistri, Wardedwarned! I stealthily dispatch it and butcher its gigantic corpse. I craft some draltha bone trinkets.
As I make ready to leave the island on the south beach a terrible creature emerges from the sea!
Glumsmoulders the grey fiend! An enormous scaly bison, beware its noxious secretions! It seems to be coated in some blood of a forgotten beast as it storms on to the beach.
With a flick of my wrist, the huge beast stops in its tracks, paralysed by death magic, and a single swift slash of my holy scimitar separates its demonic head from its shoulders.
Off to the west lies the mainland, and in the far distance I think I can spot a fortress, Relicward. Perhaps I will have better luck getting armour there?