Thistletop has turned into a bigger bear (or horse) than I think we expected. The fortress hides a lot of secrets, which is my kind of place, but it’s time consuming to explore it all. Thistletop has also afforded us a few surprises. I never expected to come across a bargast, although knowing what we do about Nualia I should have expected some kind of infernal creatures hidden away with her. It worries me that she had such powerful allies; a bargast is no weakling, and even we aren’t ready to face one. It makes me wonder what allies she has that we don’t know of yet. Like this “Brotherhood” her notes mention.
And so many goblins. We were still running across them even after my last journal entry. They were kind enough to wait until the early morning to attack us in the courtyard where we had made camp, so at least I got a decent bit of rest before having to jump back into the fray. And we found something that makes me question how much they really have in common with humans: a goblin nursery. If they have the thought and inclination to set aside an area to care for their young, much like people do, what other human-like behaviors might they possess? An interesting question for a scholar perhaps (but maybe, given goblins’ penchant for attacking people on sight, not a question that is easy or even likely to be answered). Sadly, there was a goblin baby in the nursery that presented us with a moral conundrum. I understand that with the other goblins dead the young goblin would likely starve to death. I also understand that if given the chance it will grow into a creature that will in all likelihood kill someone, especially if left in the region around Sand Point. But it is a youngling, a child, and in my line of work children are untouchable. I knew what had to be done, but I wasn’t comfortable being the one to do it. Luckily, the cat took the decision out of our hands and “took care of it.”
We found what we could only guess was the spirit one of the Thasselonian kings. He was in an area of the tunnels below Thistle top that was behind a secret door. He kept saying the same thing over and over again. We weren’t able to understand him, but Suzy was able to translate with one of the scrolls we had. He was saying something about his final work, and his power being greater than Alazinst’s wrath. It doesn’t make much sense to me. Maybe Alazinst is another Thasselonian king?
The second trip back to town was a bit worse than the first. We had our horses this time, but we were drained, in some cases literally. The orc-man and Suzy were too exhausted to cast anymore, and orc-man was drained of his strength. The shade we came upon in the room with the sarcophagi packed a nasty surprise. We were barely able to finish them off; most of our weapons went right through them. It was a combination of the last of the clerics’ magic, a couple magic weapons, some holy water, and maybe even some luck that defeated them. When we finally rode back through the town gates, we were in pretty bad shape. Victorious, but very weary.
We’ve updated Father Zantis, Ameiko, and Sheriff Hemlock so they know who and what we found, what they were doing, and our part in stopping them. Hearing ourselves talk about the events of the past week and a half, I can understand their shock and incredulity. It is a pretty fantastic tale. And examining Nualia’s notes and finding out what they contained made this whole thing pathetic and pitiful in a way I didn’t think possible. Her motivation was nothing more than a sick, twisted plot for revenge. Don’t misunderstand, Nualia was wronged by many people: her love Delek, her adopted father, the midwife who took her child, and others. But her efforts for justice were evil and misguided. It saddens me to think this all happened because she loved the wrong boy at the wrong time. Perhaps it’s naïve of me to think so, but love should make you happy and strong, not evil and cruel. I don’t think I’ll have love like that, though it happened for my parents.
It makes me feel like we accomplished something to finally make Sand Point relatively safe again. There’s a sense of…what’s the word…karma seeing these beastly monsters (and yes, that includes Nualia) get back some of the suffering they inflicted on the town, and also satisfaction that we were the ones that dealt it. I’m sure Djord would say that’s very Cadin Calin of me. I have a feeling that our travels will take us to Magnamar next, since Nualia’s notes mentioned The Brotherhood there. I’m hoping that we get some rest before we leave, however.
I feel like I could sleep for a week.
