{"id":2592,"date":"2017-01-02T11:31:03","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T19:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/?p=2592"},"modified":"2026-09-26T09:29:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T16:29:52","slug":"kalis-journal-lamashan-17-23-4712","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/kalis-journal-lamashan-17-23-4712\/","title":{"rendered":"Kali’s Journal, Lamashan 17 – 23, 4712"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lamashan 17 (Iqaliat, Evening)<\/h3>\n

O<\/span>ur suspicions about Tunuak are all but confirmed, and though we still don\u2019t understand exactly <\/span>why<\/span><\/i> we have at least been given a glimpse at the larger picture. The altar he had made for himself at the base of the chimney was decorated with a number of paintings that he, himself, had created. Not all the details are clear to us, but collectively they tell a story about storms being unleashed on the northern reaches of Avistan and Tian Xia, swallowing people, ships, cities and countries in a permanent winter that would rival even Irrisen. At the center stood a winged, blue-skinned woman that none of us recognized, but who Tunuak had named: Katiyana.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The symbol of Sithhud was everywhere. Tunuak had drawn Katiyana grasping the three-fingered claw in her hand. The floor of the cavern was littered with bones, and the ones large enough to hold it had been etched with his rune. The nascent demon lord of the frozen dead, ice and storms.<\/span><\/p>\n

The storms. The Erutaki here call them morozokus and speak of them as though they are living things. \u201cThe old gods of the wind oversee them,\u201d Sonavut said. Maybe, maybe not, but they may not be far off the mark here. I found a reference to them in one of the books we picked up back in Kalsgard. They were named after the druid who first saw and described them, and he wrote that they seemed to be guided by some malevolent intelligence. So, gods of old? Maybe, but Sithhud feels closer to the mark, and he was all around us down there.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did this happen? How did Tunuak go from village shaman to all of <\/span>this<\/span><\/i>, whatever the gods <\/span>this<\/span><\/i> is? The answer, apparently, is a vision quest.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not an expert on these things\u2014it\u2019s times like these that I really miss Etayne\u2019s counsel\u2014but I understand the broad strokes. I lived most of my life in Varisia, and you can\u2019t spend that many years there without learning a thing or two about the Shoanti. Some of their tribes have rites of passage that sound like much the same thing: you spend several days in the wilderness, alone, fasting, waiting for the spirits to send enlightenment and revelation. Among the Erutaki that live here, according to the hearthmistress, those seeking vision quests seek out none other than the Nameless Spires because \u201cthat is where the wind spirits live\u201d. The same Nameless Spires that appeared in the paintings in Tunuak\u2019s cavern. The same Nameless Spires where Tunuak went on his <\/span>own<\/span><\/i> vision quest.<\/span><\/p>\n

He went out there seeking guidance from the old gods, heard voices on the wind, and came back towing hoarfrost spirits, smashing dragon eggs, bargaining with quasits, and spreading the sign of Sithhud like seeds. What in the name of the gods happened out there?<\/span><\/p>\n

The chief has agreed to let us speak with his spirit like we did with Kimandatsu. Obviously they want answers, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lamashan 18 (Iqaliat, Morning)<\/h3>\n

K<\/span><\/p>\n

imandatsu wanted to gloat. She wanted to talk. She wanted to tell us everything, even in death. But Tunuak? His essence was evasive. He admitted to his crimes; he just wasn\u2019t forthcoming with the details. But he told us enough: Sithhud wants to reclaim his place among the demon lords, and Tunuak intended to help him. We just don\u2019t know how the pieces fit together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you smash the dragon\u2019s eggs?\u201d Qatana asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI did what must be done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

See what I mean?<\/span><\/p>\n

I am distinctly uneasy with the situation we\u2019re now in. But as the chief was quick to point out, \u201cRegardless of what Tunuak has done here, the dragon is still attacking our village.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, sure. And how would <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> respond if someone killed <\/span>your<\/span><\/i> children?<\/span><\/p>\n

Gods.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to try and bargain with her. We don\u2019t exactly have proof, but we have enough of the story and Tunuak\u2019s remains to show her, so she might be willing to listen. I admit that it\u2019s probably not going to work, but if there\u2019s even a <\/span>chance<\/span><\/i> we can put a stop to all of this, then we have to try. But we also have to prepare for the worst.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be a four-day hike to her lair. That\u2019s <\/span>one way<\/span><\/i>. I wanted to use the caravan to get us most or even part of the way there, but Sandru would not budge. Which, I suppose, is understandable: the caravan might prove too attractive a target should she pass overhead. And, this way, if she gets away from us and tries to seek revenge on the village, Ana and Shalelu will be there to help. But regardless of how much sense it makes? I just don\u2019t want to walk.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Lamashan, and that means the days are quickly growing shorter as the nights get longer. The sun rises (if you can call it rising) late in the morning and hangs low in the sky just above the horizon for only a couple of hours. Most of our waking time is spent in dawn and dusk light, and when the weather is sour it\u2019s as good as dark.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is something isolating about walking across the frozen landscape in a fading sky, no matter how many people are with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lamashan 22 (Dragon\u2019s Lair, Evening)<\/h3>\n

S<\/span><\/p>\n

he\u2019s dead. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s what any of us wanted, but that\u2019s how it ended. We tried to parley. We brought her the proof that Tunuak had paid for his crime with his life. Whether or not she believed us didn\u2019t matter. What he had done to her was unforgivable, and she was going to punish \u201call two-legs\u201d, everywhere, in retribution. Iqaliat was almost certainly just the beginning. She would have been hunting and killing humankind for as long as she was alive and able to do it. Even when we had her bested, and she <\/span>knew<\/span><\/i> it, she refused to give. This. <\/span>This<\/span><\/i> is what he had done.<\/span><\/p>\n

I actually stood face-to-face with her. It is a position I never want to be in ever again, but I did it. Was it foolish of me to walk into that cavern alone and call out to her? Probably. But if we were going to try to talk to her, it had to <\/span>look<\/span><\/i> that way, too. By appearances, I was the least threatening, so I volunteered as spokesperson. I never even heard her coming, and I bore the brunt of the ice and sleet from her breath, protected from harm solely by the spells we had prepared. Fortunately, Radella was beside me in an instant. The bitter cold I could handle. Her teeth and claws would have been another matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mere seconds later, most of the rest of us were on her. For a terrible moment I thought she was going to get away. We made the mistake of not holding someone back in reserve. I had images in my head of her bearing down on Iqaliat, only this time not stopping at just a few Erutaki and their goats. After what we had done to her, she would not have stopped until the village was buried in blood and ice.<\/span><\/p>\n

I took a cue from the harriers of my youth. I went after her pride, taunting her the best I could, hoping it would be enough to turn her back at us. It was to no avail. Fortunately, Qatana was just fast enough following her up the chute, and she did <\/span>something<\/span><\/i>\u2014I am still not sure what\u2014and the dragon fell, lifeless, just as she was clearing the top of the rift.<\/span><\/p>\n

Testament to Tunuak\u2019s sins was found in a small cavern: shattered eggs, a stone hammer, and a tribal talisman. It was, in all honesty, a clumsily staged scene, but how sophisticated did it really need to be to enrage a white dragon? That is a rhetorical question.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be taking her body back with us. In the morning, I can prepare the spell to shrink it down. I also suggested to Sparna that he make armor from her hide. This whole thing has been such a waste of life. Why compound it further by letting her body rot to no purpose?<\/span><\/p>\n

Or maybe I am just fooling myself. Pretending to still have the ideals that I left in Avistan. I know I\u2019ve changed since this journey began. The question is, how much?<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll have four days walking in the gods-be-damned snow to think about the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lamashan 23 (Dragon\u2019s Lair, Morning)<\/h3>\n

S<\/span><\/p>\n

kygni was actually impressed. I get the feeling that this doesn\u2019t happen often. He kind of looked at us for a moment, then said, \u201cYou may make it across the ice after all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lamashan 17 (Iqaliat, Evening) Our suspicions about Tunuak are all but confirmed, and though we still don\u2019t understand exactly why we have at least been given a glimpse at the larger picture. The altar he had made for himself at the base of the chimney was decorated with a number of paintings that he, himself, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-2592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","tag-kali"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2592"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5655,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592\/revisions\/5655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}