Post by Henry Bloodwrath on Jul 9, 2008 16:13:16 GMT -5
*Henry writes in journal*
In this wintry season, I must keep inside my caves. Food is not a problem, and neither is water, given my heat source and the conditions outside. Why am I keeping this journal? Eventually, hopefully, there will be another sentient being that will come peacefully. If not, then this cave will be discovered again, and I will provide the discoverers with the particulars about it. I have not yet perfected the preservation spell, and so I cannot use pictures to detail it.
As the reader of this journal might already know, the main entrance to the cave is high up on a cliff side, with a rather large rock platform beside the entrance. I created the platform with the notion of airborne visitors, but I suppose that they will not see it that way. After recent intrusions, I have modified the platform with hinges and spikes underneath, so as to more quickly stop invasions. I know not what else to call them, but on the corpses of one of the latest parties, I found a book with a picture of a red glove on the cover. I tried opening it to no avail, so I put it into the treasury cave for later examination.
Ah, but I forget myself! Back to the topic of the cave entrance, underneatth the platform, and extending to the base of the cliff, there exists (or existed) a very steep path, along with a few ladders. At first, I created the ladder portion to keep away the non-flying rogue experiments I cast out of the cave, but have since made the sections harder to traverse since the mortal parties began assaulting my home. Typically, the ladders are in positions where the path reverses direction, so as to discourage all but the most hardy adventurers and visitors. Luckily (for me) this means that the parties who do gain access to the platform are often too weary to pose any challenge to my golems just inside the cave.
Once, a party came just as a rogue experiment escaped, and the party managed to kill it with arrows from a distance. Unfortunately, they probably thought I was releasing it on purpose (which I did for fertile pairs, but not for single creatures), and unleashed their arrows upon me as well. Upon the realization of their misunderstanding, often after an arrow or two struck me a glancing blow on my armor or skin, I retreated back into the cave to heal my wounds.
However, whenever a party comes up to the top, and is sufficiently fresh enough to give my golems a hard time, I either release some of my pet creatures to help the golems or go up myself. You see, about 10 meters past the entrance to the caves, there is a pitfall of around 30 meters deep which opens into the main cavern. However, there is a narrow path, about half a meter wide, along the sides of the pit which corkscrew upwards. This enables my land-bound creations to get up the the entrance. Of course, my wyverns need not the stairs, as they can fly up like myself.
I kind of regret doing so now, but I committed one very cruel action towards a certain intruder. This mortal's band had destroyed both of my golems and had then slain most of the pets I had sent up. However, while most of his party had gone ahead and down, where I promptly put an end to them before they had collected their wits from the fall, he stayed behind. He had noticed one of the stationary salamanders that I used for lamps, and had proceeded to slowly torture it to death. By the time I arrived, it was on the verge of death, and as I looked on, hardly believing my eyes, the mortal squirted a bit of acid salvaged from one of my wyverns into the splayed-open guts of the salamander. Mercifully incinerating the salamander (and the mortal's hand) in a fireball, I then proceeded to use a little earth magic I learned to conjure rock bands around the arm with his remaining hand as well as around his feet. Bonding those rocks to a thin platform of rock I also conjured, I slid the platform along a small stream of magma down to the pitfall.
After releasing the man into the void, I dispelled the rock bands and the platform, and cooled down the magma. After I carefully broke his remaining limbs and gagged his mouth, I led him around to each of the caves. I showed him my treasury, also showing both him and the golem guarding that cave the magical sign needed to pass it, as well as my map room. I am currently recording this within the map room, as it has my writing materials and what maps I have salvaged from intruders. I also showed him, at a distance, my holding caves, wherein dwelt all the different creatures (mostly salamanders and wyverns), and my storage caves (food for me and my pets). However, with whatever my pride held as an inventor, I didn't show him my workplace; instead I showed him his final destination: the bottom cave. This is the one that opens to the underground magma river, and he acknowledged it by urgent gestures that he would NOT like to go in.
Still having not released all my anger at his torture of the salamander, I told him relatively calmly that I was letting him off easy. I was not feeding him to my creatures; instead, with a final gesture, used a thermal blast to pitch him into the far side of the river. However, I am somewhat comforted to know that I still have some shreds of humanity --- I did not stay to listen to him howl after his gag was burned through.
After I had dealt with him, I replaced the lamp salamander, as well as recreating the two golems at the entrance. Using newly learned techniques, I was able to seal some fire within the golems, so that they did not depend on my magic alone to move. After I sorted through all of the corpses, I threw the naked corpses off the cliff into the forest below, and put the clothes in a room adjoining my bedroom, where I sorted the clothes and belongings later. That being the end of the cruel action, I can say that I regret doing so now, and that I should have given into my first impulse and merely incinerated the dying salamander, the last intruder, and the rest of the corpses in one fireball.
Hey, during the course of my recollection, the map of the cave system was revealed (almost). As to the different locations of the caves, it should be easy to determine by their contents. I might write more in this journal later if another event happens, or if I remember something important.
*End of Entry*
In this wintry season, I must keep inside my caves. Food is not a problem, and neither is water, given my heat source and the conditions outside. Why am I keeping this journal? Eventually, hopefully, there will be another sentient being that will come peacefully. If not, then this cave will be discovered again, and I will provide the discoverers with the particulars about it. I have not yet perfected the preservation spell, and so I cannot use pictures to detail it.
As the reader of this journal might already know, the main entrance to the cave is high up on a cliff side, with a rather large rock platform beside the entrance. I created the platform with the notion of airborne visitors, but I suppose that they will not see it that way. After recent intrusions, I have modified the platform with hinges and spikes underneath, so as to more quickly stop invasions. I know not what else to call them, but on the corpses of one of the latest parties, I found a book with a picture of a red glove on the cover. I tried opening it to no avail, so I put it into the treasury cave for later examination.
Ah, but I forget myself! Back to the topic of the cave entrance, underneatth the platform, and extending to the base of the cliff, there exists (or existed) a very steep path, along with a few ladders. At first, I created the ladder portion to keep away the non-flying rogue experiments I cast out of the cave, but have since made the sections harder to traverse since the mortal parties began assaulting my home. Typically, the ladders are in positions where the path reverses direction, so as to discourage all but the most hardy adventurers and visitors. Luckily (for me) this means that the parties who do gain access to the platform are often too weary to pose any challenge to my golems just inside the cave.
Once, a party came just as a rogue experiment escaped, and the party managed to kill it with arrows from a distance. Unfortunately, they probably thought I was releasing it on purpose (which I did for fertile pairs, but not for single creatures), and unleashed their arrows upon me as well. Upon the realization of their misunderstanding, often after an arrow or two struck me a glancing blow on my armor or skin, I retreated back into the cave to heal my wounds.
However, whenever a party comes up to the top, and is sufficiently fresh enough to give my golems a hard time, I either release some of my pet creatures to help the golems or go up myself. You see, about 10 meters past the entrance to the caves, there is a pitfall of around 30 meters deep which opens into the main cavern. However, there is a narrow path, about half a meter wide, along the sides of the pit which corkscrew upwards. This enables my land-bound creations to get up the the entrance. Of course, my wyverns need not the stairs, as they can fly up like myself.
I kind of regret doing so now, but I committed one very cruel action towards a certain intruder. This mortal's band had destroyed both of my golems and had then slain most of the pets I had sent up. However, while most of his party had gone ahead and down, where I promptly put an end to them before they had collected their wits from the fall, he stayed behind. He had noticed one of the stationary salamanders that I used for lamps, and had proceeded to slowly torture it to death. By the time I arrived, it was on the verge of death, and as I looked on, hardly believing my eyes, the mortal squirted a bit of acid salvaged from one of my wyverns into the splayed-open guts of the salamander. Mercifully incinerating the salamander (and the mortal's hand) in a fireball, I then proceeded to use a little earth magic I learned to conjure rock bands around the arm with his remaining hand as well as around his feet. Bonding those rocks to a thin platform of rock I also conjured, I slid the platform along a small stream of magma down to the pitfall.
After releasing the man into the void, I dispelled the rock bands and the platform, and cooled down the magma. After I carefully broke his remaining limbs and gagged his mouth, I led him around to each of the caves. I showed him my treasury, also showing both him and the golem guarding that cave the magical sign needed to pass it, as well as my map room. I am currently recording this within the map room, as it has my writing materials and what maps I have salvaged from intruders. I also showed him, at a distance, my holding caves, wherein dwelt all the different creatures (mostly salamanders and wyverns), and my storage caves (food for me and my pets). However, with whatever my pride held as an inventor, I didn't show him my workplace; instead I showed him his final destination: the bottom cave. This is the one that opens to the underground magma river, and he acknowledged it by urgent gestures that he would NOT like to go in.
Still having not released all my anger at his torture of the salamander, I told him relatively calmly that I was letting him off easy. I was not feeding him to my creatures; instead, with a final gesture, used a thermal blast to pitch him into the far side of the river. However, I am somewhat comforted to know that I still have some shreds of humanity --- I did not stay to listen to him howl after his gag was burned through.
After I had dealt with him, I replaced the lamp salamander, as well as recreating the two golems at the entrance. Using newly learned techniques, I was able to seal some fire within the golems, so that they did not depend on my magic alone to move. After I sorted through all of the corpses, I threw the naked corpses off the cliff into the forest below, and put the clothes in a room adjoining my bedroom, where I sorted the clothes and belongings later. That being the end of the cruel action, I can say that I regret doing so now, and that I should have given into my first impulse and merely incinerated the dying salamander, the last intruder, and the rest of the corpses in one fireball.
Hey, during the course of my recollection, the map of the cave system was revealed (almost). As to the different locations of the caves, it should be easy to determine by their contents. I might write more in this journal later if another event happens, or if I remember something important.
*End of Entry*