I joined an adventuring party led by one Master Goshi, who was putting his "disciples" on a test. We cleared out a hobgoblin cave southeast of Vallaki, then made our way to a haunted outpost southwest of the city.
It was messy. Clearing out the outpost was difficult, and by the time we made it out, the werewolves had come out so we were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Fortunately for us, this place seems to mess with werewolves' minds and it charged into the outpost to try and kill us... Had it waited for us to come out it could've taken all of us out. Lucky us.
After we got back to town and patched up our wounds, Master Goshi took us on the final test, which was to go beyond the third level of the Vallaki catacombs and into a strange and forgotten ruin infested with undead.
It was sealed by a gate that required at least two people to open. A clever mechanism that ensured that only intelligent creatures, not mindless undead, could open it.
This was another messy ordeal. Even messier than the outpost, but we made it out, battered and bruised.
---
I made the mistake of trying to be friendly with the locals inside Vallaki. The locals got suspicious when I told them my name.
Apparently, "Pitchfork" is too fake a name to be real. They live in a world where the Mist kidnap people from other worlds, where werewolves and vampires and shadows attack at night, and they get suspicious of my name?
Well, whatever.
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I got a job as a courier in Vallaki, which should make it easier for me to move around. During one of my deliveries, I noticed a gravestone near the Wachter Estate bearing the name, "Piotr Unpronounceable Last Name," which, I've been told, is pronounced, "Peter."
Piotr.
Peter.
Pitchfork.
---
It worked. I finally told them my "real" name and not my fancy, made-up, "hero name."
---
My work for Karl continues. Last night, he hired on a warrior named Paladar to escort me as I tried to map the two southernmost regions of the Sullen Woods. We encountered shadows and werewolves... And Paladar dealt with them for me. On our way home, we got separated and I got ambushed by werewolves so I busted out my emergency dust of disappearance and ran as quickly as I could back to the Sanctuary of the Coming Dawn.
Paladar came back hours later, having apparently dealt with the monsters on his own. I gave him his share of the pay and bid him good night.
Note to self, I will need to get another pack of dust of disappearance for the future.
---
One of Master Goshi's "disciples," a gnome from Eberron, burst into the Sanctuary of the Coming Dawn asking for help rescuing his friends from an army of werewolves and a vampire. I would've gone had we had our own army, but several adventurers questioned the idea of going out at night in the first place. It was risky and stupid.
He left on his own. Don't worry, I saw his friends much, much later, after we completed our own quest.
---
After the disciple left, I talked to the people taking shelter in the Sanctuary. One of them was a local "witch" named Elena, who was leading a party to clear out a cave of giant beetles. It went well on the first level, but emboldened by our success, several of our party started charging ahead of the group... To their doom.
When injured, the beetles would retreat further into the cave, towards other beetles. However, being simple creatures, if you didn't chase them, they'd just come back thinking that you were gone. We didn't have to chase after them. We just had to be patient.
My party was not patient. We limped out of there and back to the surface...
Into the jaws of a massive dire wolf.
The wolf probably smelled the dead beetles and it tore through the group like a hot knife through butter. I fought through the pain and lured the wolf away from the more injured members of the party... And it worked! For a while, because while I was patching up my wounds in the Sanctuary, the rest of the party ran into the wolf again. What a mess.
We were finally saved by a familiar face: the friend that Master Goshi's disciple wanted us to rescue. She calmed the beast and sent it away from Vallaki.
---
Tomorrow, I will try to complete my delivery to the Tent City of Krofburg. I have been warned of the crag cats prowling the mountain path to Krofburg, so I will likely have to hire fellow adventures to go with me to Krofburg.
