Movalyn
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@6fbf74d487=Movalyn:
I have returned to Norwick. As much as I loathe this place, it is a relief to be away from Peltarch.
I have been forced to give up on the idea that by some means I would be able to enlist the help of an “adventurer” in securing an intact zombie specimen for study. Adventurers seem very thin on the ground at the moment. Only a Dwarven paladin in blue and black armour, who I doubt would agree to the task, and an elven lass who looked even more frail that I am.
So instead of removing a specimen for study, I have moved my study to the specimens. Norwick was originally located a little farther south from where it now stands. War destroyed the original town and left the area "cursed". Zombies currently roam the ruins of former Norwick, along with a variety of other undead creatures, primarily semi-corporeal “echoes” and possessed swine. My current method involves the location of a zombie, the destruction of the surrounding creatures, and the study of the zombie while under the cloak of invisibility. This is a tiresome venture for a number of reasons. Firstly invisibility is a very delicate spell. Any attempt to dissect the zombie or tamper with it in any major way breaks the spell. This limits my studies to external examination. Secondly, this examination is made difficult by the random shuffling of the subject.
A detailed explanation of my experiments and methods are outlined in “Life and Death”. Most of my findings have been the result of observations aided by the use of powdered onyx and the casting of negative energy upon the subject. By lightly dusting the zombie in the powder and casting the magic, I am able to observe and record pathways by which energy flows through the zombie's body.
At some points in my study the invisibility spell that kept me safe expired. I found that if I stayed behind the specimen and refrained from making any sudden movements that I could continue making my observations unharassed. If the zombie ever became hostile avoiding injury was simply a matter of moving away from the creature faster than it can shuffle and recasting the invisibility spell. I only ever had to do this twice.
@6fbf74d487=Movalyn:
In truth I am now glad that my study of the zombies in old Norwick is now completed. I find undeath loathsome, and being around it for so long has left me feeling soiled by it. The information I have obtained should be more than enough to continue my research.
@6fbf74d487=Movalyn:
Today my search for scrolls and tomes took me to the Hin hamlet in the Silver Valley. The diminutive folk who inhabit this small town are ignorant simpletons for the most part. Much like the inhabitants of Norwick, their agricultural lifestyle has sapped their minds of wit. One store keeper even refused me service for reasons I still can't fathom. She suggested that I "try Oscura". When I asked her for directions to this place she even refused me that.
My experience here has lead me to conclude that the reputation hinfolk have for being warm and hospitable people is baseless and utterly false.
Failing to find anything of use here, I have made up my mind to find this Oscura which the hin referred to. I will have to find a guide. I can't find any town called Oscura on my maps.
@6fbf74d487=Movalyn:
My first impressions of the underground settlemetn of Oscura were negative to say the least. First of all the way into town on foot is not what anyone would call "traveller friendly". I literally had to run through a snake pit to get to the gates. It was only later that I discovered that one could make their way safely into Oscura by boat from Peltarch. Once beyond the city gate I was in constant fear of tripping due to poor lighting, being abducted by slavers, catching some kind of fungal lung infection or being driven mad by the oppressive spiritual emanations that come from the well at the town's center. I would have left moments after arriving were it not for the wealth of valuable information that resided in the undertown's library and temple.
Access to most of this information was limited at first. Trust was an issue and "outsiders" are generally less than welcome in Oscura. Neither are they assured of any kind of security or justice. The remedy to this was to take an oath not to bring harm to Oscura and to seal that oath with a shedding of my own blood. As grizzly as this ritual was, it seemed a small price to pay for great benefit.
@6fbf74d487=Movalyn:
I feel that my research into the energy networks within the body is now sufficient for me to finally begin practical applications.
I owe a dept of gratitude to the following:
- St Noiblac of Illmater for his tome “Healing the sick and injured”. In particular his chapter on the systems by which positive energies flow within a healthy body and how they are disrupted by sickness and injury. This chapter contains diagrams that I have copied into Life and Death. They are worth taking the time to understand.
- St Acrinus, the Assimar cleric of Lathander who penned the tome Libris Mortis. I found extracts from this tome helpful.
- The attendants of the Falcon library in Oscura who were helpful. Especially for allowing me access to translated extracts from the Drow tome T’sabal Gulstrae.
I should also acknowledge the contribution the Maie Firvain has had on my research. It was my knowledge of this tome that helped me counterbalance the dark ideas contained in the T’sabal Gulstrae
There is a saying, "knowledge that has no practical outcome is as good as ignorance.". It is the practical outcome of my studies that chill me to my bones however. I am currently steeling my will to face the dangerous procedures I now need to go through. I continually remind myself that the benefit is worth the risk. I'm not actually certain this is true. The risks I face include unknowable variables, and the the true extent of the benefits are also unknowable until they are manifest. And yet I continue to remind myself of the risk being worth the benefit like the chanting of some religious mantra. Maybe a religious mindset has some benefit after all?
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@de81e7c11b:
_I murdered a man today.
I write this entry in Peltarch’s library. I had ventured up here in the hopes of securing a zombie intact for study. I had heard word that undead wander sewers below the city, and it is from those sewers that I have recently returned. While the idea of venturing into such a filthy place would normally be abhorrent to me, my zeal to capture a specimen kept my disgust at bay. I entered under the cloak of an invisibility spell, hoping to survey the area first. Before I could explore very far I encountered a man in rusted armour. Noticing the holy symbol around his neck and other paraphernalia I surmised that the man was a priest. Locals had warned that a cult was operating in the sewers, and obviously this individual was one of its leaders.
I cast a Persistent Blade spell, animating a dagger to fly out and assail the cultist. He did his best to fight off the attack, but even his casting of cure spells upon himself was not enough to save him. Toward the end I broke invisibility and finished him off with quarrels from my crossbow.
Had the encounter gone differently and he slain me rather than I him, then he could justly state that he killed me in self defense. The same could not be said of me. While it’s probably true that if I were not invisible he would have attacked me and killed me, he was no immediate threat to me. I drew first blood and administered the coup de grâce. I doubt claiming “pre-emptive self defense” would acquit me of this crime should I ever face a trial. Not that I ever expect to. From what I have heard even paladins come down here to butcher these cultists. The city’s law enforcers seem to turn a blind eye to such things, and rightly so. Justice and protection belong to those who are worthy of it. Not wretches who live in sewers.
Even though I have killed before, this was a defining moment for me. This was the first time I had slain with my own hands a “person” rather that some diminutive “monster” in the woods. I had imagined that it would be an emotional event for me, but instead I am simply filled with a grim satisfaction. This may be because the individual I killed actively promoted his religious faith. While I respect the gods because of their power, there has been a mutually parasitic relationship between the gods and their worshipers ever since the Time of Troubles. The religious pathetically curry favor from their god and their god grants it in exchange for the worship and piety which is their life blood. A useless, self seeking circle of pointlessness. I am more than happy to unite this worshiper with his god. If I rid the world of even a small part of this grand folly then I have done the world a service.
While I had a strong desire to examine this fresh body as I did the beggar from Norwick, dragging it past the two guards stationed at the entrance of the sewers would have raised too many awkward questions. So I left the body to the rats. Perhaps a member of the cult will find the body and reanimate it? I will watch for it if I am ever down there again._
@de81e7c11b:
_This is now the second week of my visit to Peltarch.
I have spent most of my time in the city’s library. Most of the tomes here tediously detail the boring history of this insignificant city, and to say that I tire of them is an understatement. Peltarch is not totally without merit however. I managed to find a vendor of magical goods by the name of Hemrod. He is a foppish individual, and while a fellow elf he is not of the same blood as I. He manifests his inferiority each time he opens his mouth. I am yet to meet another Sun Elf in these lands. I feel that, unlike myself, most of my kind are wise enough to avoid settling here.
I purchased a scroll of Combustion from him today. I imagine that the spell will be brutally effective and am eager to test it._
@de81e7c11b:
_While bards may not sing of my victory today, I still hold today’s achievement as being worthy of note.
In the wood west of Peltarch, at the base of the Giantspire mountains, is a cave that is home to a clan of orcs. I felt this would be a good place to test my newly acquired Combustion spell as orcs are brutish creatures of great constitution.
A hand full of orcs kept a patrol just beyond the entrance to the cave. The greatest of them, a towering, armoured creature armed with a mighty hammer presented himself as the most obvious subject. Based on the size of its powerful arms and hammer, I estimated that a single blow from this creature would be more than enough to turn me into a chunky red paste despite the protective spells I had cast upon myself. For this reason I snuck cautiously into position, hoping to cast the combustion spell upon it while it was distracted with a persistent blade.
It’s senses were sharper than I imagined them to be, and it bellowed as it charged at me. I fled the cave with haste, and it chased me out into the woods. I was barely able to cast invisibility on myself before it brought its mighty weapon down upon me. As it searched about for me in vain I resumed my plan, casting the a persistent blade spell not to far away from it. As it chased the animated dagger I rushed forward casting the spell. To say that he effects of the spell were spectacular would be an understatement. The creature erupted, squealing as it caught ablaze. I quickly recast invisibility upon myself and retreated to a safe distance to watch the effects of the spell. It flailed about for at least a minute as the flames consumed it. It was difficult to tell if the creatures actions were due to its intense suffering and anguish at being burnt alive, or from fury and frustration at being unable to find me. A Possible combination of both I imagine.
When the flames finally died the creature was still alive but very close to death. While it may have been wiser to simply leave the creature, I was eager to examine how deeply the flames had damaged the creatures body. So I retreated further into the wood to take a long distance shot at it, hoping to finish it off. In hindsight this was total folly. Without prior casting of the True Strike spell I have difficulty hitting the side of a barn. This fact was confirmed as the quarrel I unleashed from my crossbow buried itself into a tree next to my target. With my invisibility spell now broken, the orcs fury at being set ablaze instantly became apparent. The bellow that it let out as it charged toward me echoed off the mountain and made even its ruckus while burning alive seem like a minor din in comparison.
I cast a frost ray spell at it as it closed in. not only did that spell fail to finish the beast off, it didn’t even make it flinch. I ran and it chased me out of the wood onto the hills toward Peltarch. I turned just as the creature’s hammer swung at me, crushing my upper arm. As I recoiled from the blow, my crossbow discharged. By sheer luck the bolt struck true, finding a gap between the scales of the orc’s armour. It’d dead body came crashing down on top of me, almost finishing my life. And yet against all probability I survived.
The servants at the Lighthouse temple in Peltarch a fine job of repairing my broken body. I feel gratitude toward them, enough almost to regret the negative statements I made against the concept of religion in my former entries. Almost, but not quite. I still pity and loathe them.
If anything, my encounter with the hammer wielding orc has galvanized my commitment to fortify my body against physical attacks. I will make concluding my studies on this matter my highest priority._
[[OOC: Actually happened. That Hammerer chased Movalyn through two transitions. On the second transition going onto the Western Foothills he attacked her and almost killed her. Mov auto attacked with her crossbow just as she went through the transition and finished him off. Her BAB is 2 and she hasn't got the point blank feat. I checked the combat log and with all the penalties the killing shot was made with an AB of +1. So … yeah ... phew!]]
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@5857ff56c5:
_I have continued my studies into the border between life and death. While this subject is of interest to me, I am mainly delving into this so that I may become more efficient in sending others past this border into the realm of the dead. Not necessarily for any malicious reasons. I study this simply because in these lands being proficient in sending the living into the realm of death is the only means of upward mobility.
My notes and observations are contained in another tome which I have marked “Life and Death”. I am summarising my conclusions here mainly because the thought processes contained in that tome would be beyond the ability for a regular person to grasp. Seeing that it is for the benefit of the regular person that I keep this diary simply referring to that tome wouldn’t do. I have a vain hope that some day my deeds and the path my life took may be of some edification to whoever reads.
After my dissection of the beggar in the woods I let the body be. I imagine that most would consider a “proper burial” to be more appropriate, but I consider his contribution to my learning to be of more benefit than a wasteful ceremony which would bury whatever other information I could gain from him under the ground. Indeed, I imagine that he has done more of worth in his death than he ever did in life. The more learning I can gain from this body the less meaningless his pathetic existence was. So instead of simply disposing of the body I observed the body as time passed and made detailed observations of the rate and effect of decomposition.
What was of interest to me was that the rate of decay was less than that of the shambling undead I have observed south of Norwick. I’m unsure if the rate of decay is slowed by the forces that animate the undead, of if the rate is the same, and it is simply the effect of the decay that is different.
To be sure I will need to capture a zombie intact and make detailed observations. Of course by “I” I mean that I will need to commission someone else to do the job. Wrestling a zombie into submission is quite beyond me. Should I fail to find an able bodied “adventurer” up to the task I will have to do what I can to tag what zombies I find, marking them so that I can make my observations over time.
So far, my findings have confirmed what most already know to be true (even if they lack the wit to be able to articulate it). Without going into the complexities of the relationships between the aspects of the trichotomy that constitutes “personhood”, the fundamental truths that form the foundation of a rational understanding of the boundary between life and death are the following:
- Most “living beings” are an intangible consciousness. Religious and philosophical traditions refer to this consciousness as a spirit or a soul. While the nature of this consciousness may differ between creatures, the intangible nature of consciousness is evident (upon which I shall provide exegesis at a later point in this entry).
- In this world, living beings have a body. While this may seem so obvious that stating it makes one appear obtuse, it is important to state so as to make sense of the third fact. Each consciousness that exists in this world interacts with it through a tangible vessel.
- The consciousness exists within the body through the mediation of an animating energy. In most living beings this energy flows within an intact body to create a system in which the consciousness can not only reside but also preside, controlling the body and receiving information about the world around it through its senses. This is often referred to as “positive energy”. In the case of the undead the animating energy is quite different to that of “living beings”. Such creatures are infused with what is often referred to as “negative energy”. This can create a system within a previously “alive” body which can host a consciousness or, as is the case with “zombies” and such, an automation that is simply animated to carry out either the will of the one who created it or the residual, primal instincts that reside within it’s flesh and bone. Such creatures are often further motivated by an insatiable craving. Where the positive energy flowing within the system of an intact, well fed body creates a sensation of satisfaction, the negative energy animating a vessel always craves. In a conscious undead being this manifests itself as an insatiable hunger either for blood, flesh, or the life force of living beings.
I have observed that the way favoured by most local “adventurers” of separating a consciousness from a body is simply to assault the body physically. A less common way of removing the consciousness from the body is to disrupt the animating energy by infusing the vessel with an opposite form of energy. But to discuss that concept further would be to take a side track away from the point I wish to make. For now it is enough to say that physical assaults break down the systems by which the animating force sustains the link between the consciousness and the body until the body can no longer sustain its ability to host the consciousness. At this point “death” as it is traditionally understood takes place. Indeed the very definition of temporal “death” is the departure of this consciousness from its tangible vessel.
Most religious traditions have within their practice rituals that can infuse a body with positive energy, repairing its ability to host the consciousness. There also exists rituals that can restore a consciousness to its broken body. It’s a well known fact that local religious groups make a tidy profit by providing “resurrection” services for dead adventurers.
I have no real interest in such rituals, but their existence does provide proof of the first point I made previously, that the intangible consciousness resides within the body, and can be removed from it, or sustained within it, by assaulting or reinforcing the system of animating energies.
This being the case, I hope to venture into two new fields of study:
- By gaining a greater understanding of animating energies, it should be possible to adjust the patterns and networks of opposing energies within my own body to help fortify it against mortal injuries.
- By this same understanding, it should be possible to identify precise points within a body so that it will be possible to paralyse or slay an individual with accurate attacks. This would be preferable to simply applying random damage to a target in the hopes that it will eventually die._
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_My initial foray into a life as an "adventurer" has met utter failure.
After my first ventures south of Norwick, I followed some local advice and travelled north in search of "the swamps". The regular mode of operation for "adventurers" in these parts seems to be to invade the territory held by lesser races, murder as many of them as possible, and to return to a settlement to sell the spoils. By such actions many locals have become quite wealthy. This has enabled some of them to build grand temples and towers, monuments to their successful campaigns of violence against communities of "monsters" that inhabit the region.
The swamps to the north were said to be home to kobolds and lizard folk. The advice I received was that by venturing into this territory one could reap a moderate financial boon, as even the lower levels of kobold society carried ill gotten coin. This information turned out to be accurate, and after slaying a number of them with my crossbow I was able to line my purse. It was disgusting work. The mud and filth, the rats, the blood, I felt belittled by it all. And yet at the same time I became aware of being drawn into the local cycle of things.
Once I had gatherd a decent amount of coinage I made my way south again. My hopes of spending any of it were dashed by a bandit woman brandishing a crossbow. I had foolishly ventured out onto the open road without preparing any magic. A mistake my conscience still mocks me for making. We could have had a crossbow duel, but I had no idea of how many others lay concealed as a part of this ambush. And in truth I doubted my aim was as good as hers. So I yielded to her demands and gave over my coins - two hundred of them in all.
My relief at being allowed to leave the encounter unharmed is marred by the bitterness of being robbed. Immediately after returning to town I poured over my spell book and prepared castings of Invisibility and True Strike. My plan was to find the bandit woman and any companions she may have, examine there movements and assess their might, and to formulate a way to exact my revenge, and hopefully regain my lost coin.
For this plan to work I was in need of bait. I used the few coins that I had left to employ a local beggar. I wrote for him a letter to deliver to Peltarch. He was naturally quite skittish and hesitant to carry out the task, but I assured him that I would be close behind him under the cloak of invisibility, ready to cast a like spell upon him should things get violent. This was a lie of course. The point of bait is that the fish eats it, not that it should get away. But this worm would squirm off the hook if I did not belay his fears.
The plan came together much as I expected it would. The Bandit emerged to challenge the beggar, she found nothing of value on him apart from the letter and the five coins that I had given him, and promptly shot him through his chest, just right of the sternum, with her crossbow. After she looted the man I followed her at a distance. I was invisible but remained cautious unless the sound of my movements gave me away. She returned to two companions, both obviously fighting men and well equipped for close combat. I listened in on their conversation, in which they lamented that the pitiful amount of coin on the begger was nothing compared to their "last score". Obviously I was that score.
In my mind I congratulated them and left. I was fearful my invisibility spell would wear off, and apart from that it was obvious that I was in no way a match for these brigands. Like the kobolds I had defeated and profited from, I in turn had been defeated, and the victors would enjoy the spoils.
Again, I felt I had become drawn into the local cycle of things. My place in the food chain was obvious. If I am to rise in that chain I will need to become more efficient at the business of death. With this in mind I recast Invisibility upon myself and retrieved the body of the beggar which I had used as bait. It seemed a waste for his life to have come to so little, so I took the body to the a clearing in the woods. The next day, once the sun was fully up, I dissected him. The bandit's shot had been an excellent one. Either the shot was lucky or she was extremely precise. The quarrel had pierced the heart, severing the superior vena cava and puncturing the aorta. I took careful notes, both of this and of the nerve structures that surround heart as well as the auxiliary nerves extending from the brachial plexus. Over the next few days I was able to learn much about the interactions between the nerves and the other systems of the body thanks to the Electrical Jolt spell.
My notes on these things can be found in a separate tome._
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