Olympus RPG Blog

This entry is, like many of Auditore’s entries, only partially complete, but it unique due to a surprisingly skilled representation of a beast. There is a reference to a previous journal entry, presumably written a day earlier, following the incident with the two Controllers, but that entry has been rendered illegible from both age and damage. Equally distressing is the loss of several other images of Otherworldly beasts

how to record the day? Even before we came to this Otherworld, I had lost track of the day though that is no surprise. Mother often accused me of not paying adequate attention to the passing of the calendar and I fear I have become no better as I aged.

But I digress and my mind wanders.

The village set out early, leaving behind only what could not be carried or stored in the carts or the boat. The people, these Huallpa, are resilient, though we travel far more slowly than I would like. In their own way, they are beautiful and my eye is oft drawn to the ridges upon their noses. Though they are crude and cannot capture the true likeness of the Huallpa, I follow in Talon’s example and put charcoal to page to capture their likenesses and that of their local beasts of burden.

Below this are several faded images, all but the following lost to time. Presumably, Auditore sketched several of the Huallpa, but this is the only such image that appears to have survived.

Auditore’s next entry picks up sometime later.

Our path takes us higher, which slows the Huallpa even more. The old tire quickly and even their young are unaccustomed to extended marches.

We offered to scout ahead to find alternate routes through the ridges, leaving Lord Wallace, Radskyrta and Talon to watch over the Huallpa as they rested.

‘Ere long, we stumbled upon a nest of creatures unlike any I have ever seen. My father’s blade sang true and my refocus on the old lessons bore fruit. Nigh singlehanded, I felled one of the beasts whilst Rainald and Dane combined to slay the second. Afterward, while my companions and the Huallpa butchered the beasts, I once more put ink to page.

The beasts were a strange form of bird-lizard that towered over us as a war-destrier stands over a sheep-dog. Its skin was tough, but unarmored. The paws have wide, flat digits that provide it with sure grip on difficult surfaces. Viracocha named these beasts in his native tongue but I have no ear for languages and cannot reproduce the sound of his words in Anglish or Latin.

The eggs left behind by these creatures we destroyed as Viracocha said these beasts were greatly feared.

A celebration of sorts is planned and I mean to enjoy myself. Tomorrow I shall offer to instruct the Huallpa in swordplay – few of them are mighty enough to fight as Rainald does and my teachings are better suited to them, I think.

Lord Wallace’s men on the road again, by the light of a double moon,
Had a brush with death.  If I have the breath I’ll sing you a battle tune.

While marching along they could do no wrong in a land that was far from home,
Then a dragon fierce with a cry that pierced put a stop to that cheerful roam.

The Hammer o’ the North was first to come forth with a hideous rain o’ blows,
While Soldier Dane, a mighty swain, a feather’d arrow chose

The holy monk from the battle shrunk, he being a man of peace.
We crept away with our faces gray from the rage o’ that fearsome beast.

We were just about free, but from over the scree came the groom to the monster bride
With a roar like a bear that’d curl your hair–and us with no place to hide!

Rainald was quick to wield his pick like to pry the mother apart
And Dang’rous Dane he found a vein as he shot toward its heart.

When Gabe in white slipped out o’ sight to face the mate alone
‘Twas all I could do to count some coup by throwin’ a handy stone.

That got it mad, but Gabe was bad, more so than the hell-sent fiend,
And a cut to its chest left the thing hard-pressed, and t’ward the ground it leaned.

The she-worm curs’d had a pow’rful thirst for a shot o’ Northern juice
She swallowed him up and would-a supped ’til Rainald, he cut loose.

The hammer red upside her head made her release that bite,
Beside ol’ Dane the Dragon’s Bane, Rainald wrapped up the fight.

They tore on through, and we all knew they’d saved the day once more.
With Gabe on our side, the creatures died; we gave ’em all what-for.

I learned today to run and pray when a beastie gives you shakes,
But the might of men in a monster’s den still gets you dragon steaks!

One of the few wholely intact journal entries from Auditore’s lost writings, this section has been poured over by experts intent on peeling away the truth regarding the war with the V’Saa.

Fog shrouded morning. It could almost deceive one into thinking this place was somewhere on Yrth – an oasis butted up against the Great Desert, perhaps, or an inlet between al-Haz and the Djinn Lands. But to do so would be the greatest form of deception, that of lying to the self.

The sun burned the fog away and we proceeded down the river toward the boat we saw the day before. As we drew closer, a boy was revealed to us. If we needed any further proof this was Yrth, the … ridges on the lad’s nose was more than enough. He fled from us, as if we demons given form. His trail carried us to a cliffside village – the structures were no different from what would be found in Caithness – and a greeting party of peasants armed with farming tools rushed to greet us. Lord Wallace elected to send forward Magnifico to act as our voice …

Magnifico. What to say of him? A clown he may be, but he is no fool. Though I know nothing of his past, he has displayed surprising aptitude in knowing what to say and when. It is an impressive skill, being able to change a potential enemy into a friend with only words. My brother possessed this talent, though he and Magnifico could not be more different, in both appearance and temperment.

The attempted diplomacy seemed to go well – Mendel joined during it at Magnifico’s request – until a newcomer arrived. Shirtless, he was unmistakably shackled, with the same kind of creature that had controlled the baron of Ferrier. The peasants knelt at once but the host looked at our diplomats and reacted with visible fear.

Again, my recollection of the events that followed are sketchy. I recall already being in motion when the shackled man appeared – the old training, to stay low, to stay hidden, to stay unobtrusive, kept me from sight – but by the time I reached the man, he was already facedown, a trio of arrows from Dane and Talon protruding from the creature’s carapace. With Mendel’s assistance, I pried the creature free from the man – he began convulsing and Magnifico announced that the creature was seeking to kill the Host. Again, the archers’ aim was true when I tossed the creature aside.

We were rushed into a building by the peasants and another newcomer joined us. This one began making the hand motions that I recognized from the Alphas – and a few moments later, he spoke Anglish. He introduced himself as Viracocha. The insectoid creatures we learned are called V’Saa and they had previously invaded this world where they subjugated the inhabitants, Huallpa. Viracocha expressed great fear that the second shackled – called a Controller – would alert the V’Saa “hive” (which is, according to Viracocha, controlled by a Queen) and they would send reinforcements. After discussion, it was decided that we would neutralize her. My companions urged a direct assault despite my desire to act in a more circumspect manner – Viracocha weaved a portal through which we leapt through, startling the shackled woman within. I was again less than effective – it fell to Rainald and the archers to slay the Controller without harming the Host. Thrice in as many skirmishes, I have been of no aid to my companions and in fact have become a hindrance.

I have lost focus in my wanderings, allowed myself to forget the most basic teachings that my father instilled upon me. My sword must once more become an extension of my self, of my will, of my goals. All men are made of water, my father once told me. If you pierce them, the water leaks out and they die. I must once more become the water dancer I was long ago. My balance must be restored, both inward and outward, and I must feed my emotions into the flames of concentration. Anger, fear, they must be set aside so I may focus on what must be done.

The wind beckons, and I must bend before it.

Viracocha intends to secret his people away from this place and we have agreed to escort them. There is much to learn, much to do, much to be.

More water damage has obscured many of the entries beyond, including the one that modern scholars have spent the most time attempting to reconstruct – the encounter in Ferrier Keep that was later referenced in several other places by second or thirdhand reporters, but has never been fully described by any with firsthand knowledge. The damage to Auditore’s journal is not unexpected, given how the intact pages begin.

filthy sewers. Scouted forward with Dane & Talon. Stumbled upon Red Soldier, but the two felled him quickly. At Lord Wallace’s instruction [Editor Note: This reference is to Malcolm I, who is recorded as to having traveled with a man known only as Whitecloak; this is generally believed to be Gabriel Auditore and this historical document is confirmation of this theory], we pressed on where we entered a wide section of the tunnels. My memory here is sketchy, though I recall another of the Red Soldiers appearing and I springing forward to delay him so as to protect the archers. The skirmish passed quickly, even though more Reds appeared, and my contribution was negligible. One of the Reds fell to my blade and Talon’s arrows and I recall hearing Rainald’s warcry moments before a Leader emerged from the darkness, but a second of the monsters won through my defenses and thrust his weapon into my body. Had it not been for Brother Mendel and the Lord, I fear I would have fallen.

I woke elsewhere, in a shadowed room that my compatriots said was reached via hole in the sewer floor magically erected by the Leader before he was slain. My grievous injury was mostly healed, though they burned and I fear infection. Roughly chiseled stone stairs beckoned and, once we were rested, we stepped toward them.

Emerged from the room and into an alien vista. Architecture is completely foreign, with scribbles that could be writing though none I have seen. Upon looking back we discovered it to be little more than a doorway in the rock.

The sight we beheld was both terrifying and magnificent: Two moons hung low in the sky that was otherwise normal in appearance. A great canyon, with trees that look to be upside-down, with branches growing into the ground rather than upward toward the sky, stretched out before us. The foliage was unfamiliar – the leaves I’ve never seen, nor has Dane or Talon. A great river cut through the canyon, and in the far distance was a boat, which we set out toward. Bro. Mendel & Magnifico exclaimed over “restored mana levels” though I knew not what they meant. Experienced a lightness of step that I had never before felt.

Near dusk, Dane & Talon kill a blue, four-legged beast that tastes funny. We camp now, and mean to press on upon the morrow.

Sleep beckons now, though my wound burns. I pray that this land is not an eternal Purgatory.