There was a big battle in Highpass today, someone was chased by Gnolls all the way to the guard house and at the same time a horde of Orcs came rampaging through the cliffs, also chasing someone to the guard house. Many people who thought they were in the safety of the guards got killed, as well as a number of guards themselves. I managed to slip away and into Highkeep and am now sitting inside in a room at the Inn to write. But I can still hear sounds of battle that emanate from the basement floors as people fight valiantly against Goblins that hide down there. So… back to the story, Black Burrow…

Thehealer grew bored of the hunt and moved on one day. She had long since surpassed me in her seasons, but by a couple. I was looking for someone to group with in Black Burrow when a received I message from her. She had journeyed far out in to the deep Karana's and told me about a village of bird people she had found and begged me to came and join her. So, after one more night of camping the Elite Room, and Laowen had yet to arrive, I choose to go. I visited my friend Sneed in North Qeynos, who cut me a good deal on rations and water so I would have plenty for my journey. I then headed for the bank, first stopping in at the Warriors Guild to give Captain Tillin a bunch of Gnoll teeth, he gave me moonstones in return. I then went to the bank to finalize my financial situation to make me more fit to travel.

Then, I went to Fish's ale. I have mentioned before my fascination with the gods resurrecting certain individuals after death. I had thought that when the barkeep in the back room there was executed after I gave Tillin the note from Gnasher that he would never come back. But… he had. And to make things even more interesting, he gave out free Black Burrow Stout in return for the moonstones that Captain Tillin gave out for the Gnoll Teeth. One would think that, after seeing how the stuff was brewed (see Episode 1) one could never drink it! But damn this liquor is good shit!

Jacob McNeal was there, complaigning about his supply of BB Stout as usual. He gave me my bottles, he must have just had enough and I quickly made my way out, for the word was that the city guards would arrest anyone they caught dealing in the stuff. I then went and bought a new backpack for my travels and headed out. I started early in the morning and ran out to West Karana. I had been there once when I was younger, just out of curiosity but I had gotten mauled by a lion then. They didn't seem to want to bother me now.

After making a few wrong turns and stopping to take in a few sites I arrived at a gypsy camp somewhere in the northern plains just before evening set in. I decided it was a good place to rest and sent Thehealer a message. She asked if I had seen the bridge yet, which I hadn't, then said she couldn't wait to see me. So I started off again. Soon I saw four giant spires raising in the distance. They were enormous, I had never seen anything like them. The road cleared a raise and curved around to go right through the middle of them and there, just past them had to be the bridge with a large tower. I stopped to marvel at the spires and then felt the ground shake. People started shouting about a Hill Giant headed for the spires. I looked around to see what was happening and then I saw it.



He was the biggest… well. He was not a beast like the Gnolls, nor was he a person, but he was. And he was the biggest person I had ever seen. Then he started running towards the spires, growling and snarling at everyone gathered there. Someone yelled for everyone to run. Some headed for the bridge, others out into the open plains. I ran for the bridge and the giant attack someone behind me. I heard the hapless soul cry out in pain and turned to heal them, the ever-helpful Druid of Tunare that I was. It was almost my undoing. Whom ever the Giant had attacked was either already dead, or faking death, and the Giant bore down on me. He hit me harder then I had ever been hit before. The force of his blow threw me up against one of the spires. He made to step on me and… he then suddenly burst into a massive explosion.

Standing on the top of the bridge tower was a Wizard. He had to have been a powerful one for the Giant fell after that first blast. I watched the Wizard as I lay against that spire, and he suddenly vanished into thin air, only to reappear between all the spires and I knew then that truly he was indeed powerful to flaunt his powers in that manner. He simply walked away, leaving the corpse and all its valuables behind him. People began to gather around it after he had left. He shouted three words as he proceeded over the raise just up the road.

"Hill Giant's Dead."

I sat for a bit to recuperate and when I felt strong enough I headed down the slope to the tower bridge. I spent some time exploring the tower, found a merchant on the second floor and the Captain of the Guard on the top from which I had a spectacular view. I wondered the top floor, looking out from every direction and then decided to cross the bridge. On the other shore the ground sloped upward slightly and I took off in a run, it was getting late in the hours and the moon was raising high. I didn't know, and couldn't tell in the dark that there were undead ruins directly ahead. I just saw the camp fires of all the people camping the ruins and I ran straight through.

Before I could do anything skeletons rose out of the ground all around me and started groping for my legs as they came. There must have been a dozen or more of them and they all came clamoring after me, bones creaking and filling the air with their annoying cackling. A couple swiped at my legs as they crawled out of the ground and one of them got hold of my ankle, tripping me up. They were on me before I could even think about getting up. Before long I found myself standing outside Surefall Glade once again. Grumbling, I sent Thehealer a message telling her of what happened, this obviously dismayed her, and then ran for the Qeynos city gates and bartered for a SOW to speed me along my way so I could find my belongings. I fellow Druid of Surefall was more then happy to provide me with one for free.

My trip back was much quicker and shorter and I wondered why I hadn't gotten a SOW the first time out. I didn't stop and talk to the gypsies this time, nor did I stop to admire the spires or the view from the bridge tower. I just ran across the bridge and went in search of my corpse. I had made it some ways past the ruins before the skeletons were able to bring me down. It took some time, and it was dark which made searching even harder but eventually I found it.

It was about dawn when I found what obviously must have been the village of the bird people, and the bird people themselves patrolled the lands everywhere. I soon learned these birds were called Aviaks. The village consisted of many various structures built high up in the trees and interconnected with ramps and walkways. Amazingly, the Aviaks seemed to not mind my presence amongst them. Besides all the bloody fighting the place seemed an idea vacation spot.

I stood under the central tree and began looking around for Thehealer, I still hadn't told her I had arrived. I spotted her running around with a group of people and went to surprise her. She was overjoyed that I had finally come and quickly invited me to join her group, which consisted of a few gruff fighters several season older then me, as was she at the time. I was only in my thirteenth and she was in her seventeenth. When the warrior in the group pulled a few Aviaks over to fight I quickly went to work at snaring and rooting the beast but found it resisted the spells. I then attempted to blast it with fire and again it resisted. I grew frustrated and throw everything I had in my spell book at it, and every spell I used was resisted, which was just as well since the group had already killed them. I figured that maybe the beasts were bit too string for me and I decided to try my spells on a smaller one.

The next fight I again tried to root, to no avail and instead engaged the creature with my staff but it seemed I did very little harm compared to the others in the fight. After that kill someone pulled in a smaller Aviak and I thought, "Yes! Now I'll really show them!"

But nothing. Then our barbarian started complaining and she left the group, someone else said they had to camp for the night and we decided we needed to find more help. But Thehealer had already run off to find a new pull and came back with nearly every Aviak that was within sight quick on her heels! The group attacked, a few others that passed us by attempted to pull some off us, but then someone died, then another, and many began to flee. Somehow, in the middle of all the chaos the rest of our group fell apart and everyone took off running. TheHealer told me to follow her and we ran. She led me far into the hills and said she was looking for the entrance to Lake Rathetear, for the Aviaks wouldn't chase us into there. But eventually we found we were lost and we had no more pursuers so we just sit there and talked. Only then did I realize the hour and my fatigue. I decided to Gate myself back to Surefall and camp for the night. She was sad that I wanted to leave.

So I explained, "I don't think I'm really doing any good here, they were all resisting every one of my spells. Maybe when I get my new ones next season…"

"You'll have your own SOW then and you'll be able to bind yourself here then!" She explained rather excitedly.

Yes, and next time I'll bring Laowen with me, be just like old times. But the hour is really very late, I need to go."

She hugged me and then suddenly said, "Oh! I almost forgot! I went to Infected Paw the other day and got all sort's of stuff, almost died in there but managed to get out with some nice stuff, here look!"

She showed me all sorts of fancy weapons, one of which was a Fine Steel Great Staff that she gave to me, even though I had already gotten my hands on a Runed Totem Staff from Black Burrow. I thanked her for it and she gave me another hug, waved goodbye and I Gated away from her. I sat where I popped , sent her a message telling her good night and made my camp for the night. The next time I woke I had received a message telling me that I now had a brother! Wow! I was shocked. Then I learned that he was an Ogre… I wondered what strange force could possibly cause such a thing to happen, and then I really started to wonder about who was responsible for my birth. I had always felt that my friend Buddhisatva had something to do with it in some way.

My brother's name was Krog, though when the god's asked him what name he wanted to have he eagerly proclaimed, "Me Krog!" So… they gave him the name Mekrog as his given blue magical name. He was obviously quite stupid but thought he was smart. Apparently, somehow in his infancy he stumbled somewhere in the Feerott and fell on his head, and… according to him a Lizardman attacked him and he lost an eye. He seemed quite mad and bent in vengence against the Lizardmen of Feerott and I realized I could give him my Fine Steel Great Staff.

I checked to see if Laowen was around and he was not so I decided to hunt a few Gnolls on my own down in Black Burrow. I spent several days doing this and soon, finally reach my fourteenth season! Fortunately I had already purchased that circle of spells and had them stashed away in the bank so I ran off to get them. After studying all of them I ran out into the fields north of Qeynos and ran around killing every bat I could find just to get some bat wings for the spell of Levitation. Another new spell I was excited about was one that would cast me into a tree. I tried that spell out right away when no one was looking, right in the middle of the road! I certainly confused a lot of youths that ran around out there.

I stood there in the middle of the road as a tree and nuked everything that came near me. I even killed some beetles chasing a poor fellow back to the gates and when he turned around, he could not find anyone to thank for saving him! It was some of the older travelers in the area that recognized me for who I was, a fourteenth season Druid of Tunare having a little fun in the fields normally meant for people very much younger. Some of my other new spells allowed me to buff people too. I could make them stronger and make their skin harder and I managed to make a little money off these, even though they seemed to fizzle a lot more then I actually managed to cast them.

It was later that day I got a message from Nortin the Mage! I had grouped with him a number of times in the past, he said he was up in near Permafrost and wanted to know if I'd like to join him and group with him. I dug into my backpack and found a map of the area I had acquired and told him I would love to visit him up there. So I set out for the Everfrost Mountains. I had to go through Black Burrow to get there and when I arrived I hadn't taken into account the cold temperatures, and it was indeed cold! I waited by the fires that burned near the cave that led back into the mountains to Black Burrow and Nortin said he would come for me. But eventually he got tied up with his group and was unable to come. So I decided to try going by my map.

As it turned out, I got lost. It was snowing, hard. I was cold. And I was starting to run out of food. Nortin kept in contact with me regarding my situation. We I told him I had found what appeared to be some sort of a temple that resembled bleacher seating he laughed, said he knew exactly where I was and told me to stay there. He explained I had wandered far off from where I needed to be, and truly it took him a good while to get to me. When he did he had me follow him back to his camp, which really was quite far from where I had been. He introduced me to his friends and they pulled some of the queerest creatures I had yet to see. Some were large, very large and had long snouts hanging down between two sharp tusks and thick heavy fur hung matted all about them. For the first time I saw some Orcs and Goblins as well.

We fought well and I had gained a good amount of experience in the process but finally someone made one bad pull and everything went bad. One of the big hairy beast with the big snouts came straight on me and I knew he could kill me easily. Then everyone else in the group tried in vain to taunt the creature away and I kept backing away from it, trying to root it in it's place but it's massive legs kept breaking loose from the roots. Even my Snare could not slow the beast. It trumpeted out a loud blast and barreled down on me. I was dead in moments and only again after arriving back in Surefall Glade did I notice the lateness of the hour. I ran to the bank and got my spare leather tunic so I would not completely freeze when I went for my belongings.

I then set out once again, this time following Nortins advice and staying an the "right" close to what he called the "wall" and pretty soon I found him and my corpse. I stayed just long enough to say my good byes and Gated back to Surefall to prepare my camp for the night, Nortin of course understood as he too wanted to make his camp. The next day I was reunited with Laowen back in Black Burrow.

He and I had decided to move on from that dreaded Elite room, surprising enough we found yet bigger game to hunt. For word had it that a Commander of the Splitpaws' dwelled deeper in the den. We found his lair, heavily guarded of course. But we had also found people willing to help hunt this vile beast with us. Those fights were both horrible and profitable Eventually I decided it was time and I traveled down to Oogok to visit my brother Krog, I wanted to give him this Fine Steel Great Staff.

My journey through the Karana's was much the same as it had been the previous time and when I arrived at the Aviak village I sought directions to Lake Rathetear. I was quickly pointed in the correct direction and ran off that way. Some Splitpaws and Undead guarded the docks but I slipped by them easily and ran across the water with my Levitate spell. I found the entrance to the Rathe Mountains quite easily but then the Orc's and bandits that stood watch nearby by saw me and gave chase. Fortunately, I had bound myself at the large stone bridgein the northern plains of the Karana's so my run back to the lake didn't take long. I rebound myself just inside the Mountains of Rathe and set out again.

My journey through the Mountains took longer then I had hoped, for I got too easily lost and somehow turned completely around and ended up near where I had started several times. Eventually I managed to find the path into the Feerott. I felt I had made a mistake from the moment I entered that dreaded forest. It was dark, foreboding and echoed with the sounds of what had to have been some poor soul being tortured and tormented to death, very slowly. I followed the path according to Krog's directions and found a bridge, from there he suggested I camouflage myself for I may be killed on sight in his lands. I slipped into Oggok too easily and found a safe place to give him the Fine Steel Great Staff I had brought with me, he in turn left for me a new bag full of bat wings.

Much later, after I had Gated back to Surefall he had written to me saying that he had organized a raid on the Lizardmen Camps and razed every single one along the river that ran through the Feerott. One after the other he went on a rampage. I heard he showed them no mercy and just about butchered them, and that every Lizardman he killed he plucked out one of its eyes before bashing it to death. He wrote that he soon wanted to come north, and fight in the famed Black Burrow as I had been doing. This humored me, an Ogre in Black Burrow, for I still had yet to see one there myself. Oh, I saw a troll there one day, but I also saw its corpse outside the Qeynos city Gates later that same day.

Well, it is time to move on for now. I am growing tired and wary and I must set this quill and parchment aside for awhile. I am in my twentieth season and I am growing tired of Highpass Hold. I feel I must soon move on from here, Laowen already has, but that is for the next story. Farewell friends and till next time, Safe Travels.