Pirates!

 In the wee hours of the morning, I was unceremoniously jerked from my peaceful slumber (and some extraordinarily lovely dreams) by a shout. Pirates!

I suppose it had to happen eventually; this world is not a peaceful one. Sadly, there was no time to don my armor, so I grabbed my mace and shield and headed to the deck. I quickly manned a cannon amidships. Cole Bay assisted Ingrid in making an incredibly daring (and graceful) leap from ship to ship so she could mete out some justice face-to-face. Unfortunately, she was far outnumbered and felt the lack of backup fairly quickly, despite all the damage we were doing to the ship. I switched over to a ballista to harpoon the other ship and create a line to traverse...just in time to be of no use -- the pirate captain calling for a duel.

Of course, Captain was amenable (even eager), so she swung over like a hero from a bard's tale and they faced off. It was truly an epic fight (though quick). In the scuffle, Captain's sleeve was burned away, revealing a distinctive tattoo. It took me a moment to recall where I'd seen it before. It is the same worn by the dread Black Blade! Captain Aveline! Holy Mother, that was an unexpected turn of events. It gave me a shock, that's for sure. But, just as we seek to reform the planet that nurtures us, we must allow people the opportunity to reform themselves as well. For all the dark deeds laid at her feet, there will surely be countless redemptive ones. No sooner had all that raced through my mind than she ran through her opponent. In that instant, the Storm Goddess herself boomed out, naming Captain her champion!

The rest of the day was almost a let down after all that excitement: turning in bounties, purchasing new gear, some experimentation to identify the button-ring. Definitely a day of extremes. Lady Bless!

More Glimpses of the Past!

 We continued to search the ruins, and I quickly found a metal door. It had 4 hemispherical indentations in a diamond pattern. I suspected that there would be some orbs around to socket into these indentations, so continued searching in hopes of finding them. In a nearby room there was a chest with a ring...and a green orb! Not long later, Sonica found a chest -- guarded from above by another of those cursed spiders. Once it was dispatched, we discovered that the chest contained a different ring...and a yellow orb! Apparently, I missed the acquisition of red and blue orbs earlier, so that completed the set. We returned to the door and placed the orbs in the sockets and some mystical energy outlined the door, delineated a line down the center, and the two sides slid away to reveal a giant cavern ahead. It was so vast, it almost seemed like we were outside again.

The chasm is dominated by a dilapidated temple building of some sort, which -- though it is clearly in ruins -- is being swept by some sort of stone automaton or golem. It seems to assume that we are here to visit the church, so we agree and follow it inside. The focal point of the church, opposite the door we entered, is a statue of a woman or perhaps a goddess (it occurs to me that this could be an early representation of The One, but then it may not, there are many goddesses worshiped even now). I make a sketch for our records (see my last page), and engaged the custodial golem for more information regarding the murals still barely visible on the walls.

While I picked the questionable "brain" of our host, Sonica checked a chest in the corner. Inside, she found some sort of grappling-glove, a painting, and a letter. The painting shows a demonic figure magically restrained in a circular apparatus by a woman who stands in front of it. A small plaque on it reads: "The Great Adversary, now defeated, was imprisoned w/ molten stone, weakened and alone." The letter is dated "2/11/0001," 1619 years ago! It reads (in an ancient script):

"Like a comforting hug, traces of you surround this new world and powers stones that keep everything afloat. I long to find you again. As I look down at the swirling maelstrom below, I know you are out there among these beautifully broken lands. Like your essence, I will scatter these letters around in hopes that you will find them and remember me once again.

-With all my love, Hector Cogsworth."

I have not heard of a Hector Cogsworth. The only notable Hector I can recall is from our own religion, but he was a demon in the form of a man.

Having seen all we could see in this underground world, we return to the ship and rest as we fly off. Before heading to sleep, I draw my circle and investigate the rings we have found. The one with the circling arrows will be very useful; it will, from time to time, substitute its energies for your own when you cast a spell, so you pay no cost! The ring with various colored buttons eludes me, however. I'll have to discuss it with Cole on the morrow. Faith, but it's been a long day.

Finally Some Sleep!

 Before we continued on, I crafted the ritual to identify the cloak the captain found. It turns out to give healing when in combat! I thought it would be particularly useful in preserving my magical energies for helping the rest of the crew, so I put it on. 

We continued exploring, and it didn't take long for the captain to find something in a pool. Unfortunately, it was guarded by something seemingly made of the water itself! Her lightning attacks seemed to damage it greatly, but also anything (or anyone!) in the water with it. It bashed Cole to unconsciousness and dropped him in the water in short order and the captain was forced to dive in and drag him out, while Ingrid hit him with a healing bullet. We soon defeated the odd creature and found a room in which to recuperate.

A couple hours after we lay down, an odd beast wandered nearby. Luckily, Ingrid and Sonica, not feeling the fatigue as much as the rest of us, were standing guard and were able to kill it. Though kill may not be the best word to use, for it turns out it wasn't a beast at all, but some sort of advanced automaton in a faux-beast skin.

After getting a full rest in, we continued exploring these ruins. Cole found some sort of lightning cage encasing a spear. He did some experimentation with his cane and the fake skin from the automaton, but it melted onto his hand. Not knowing what else to do, I tried bashing one of the pillars the lightning walls were arcing between. The "stop thinking and hit it" tactic turned out to be fruitful, and removing a pillar changed the arc pattern. Removing another left just one wall, and made retrieving the spear trivial (though I was careful to ensure I didn't trigger any sort of backlash). One identification ritual later and we are in possession of the Mirrorlight Piercer! Since she should be able to make the best use of it, I handed the spear to Ingrid.

All in all, a fairly eventful time, even while we rested! She is surely preparing us for some great deeds!