{"id":2963,"date":"2017-06-17T11:31:33","date_gmt":"2017-06-17T18:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/?p=2963"},"modified":"2026-09-26T12:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T19:28:14","slug":"kalis-journal-arodus-31-4713","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/kalis-journal-arodus-31-4713\/","title":{"rendered":"Kali’s Journal, Abadius 31, 4713"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abadius 31, 4713 (evening, Uqtaal necropolis)<\/h4>\n

The Hidden Truth symbolizes the ability to see past the obvious and the banal to a greater truth within. Sometimes this discovery is an esoteric one, sometimes it is a literal find, such as an item revealed within a room. Regardless, it is a card with the power to reveal secrets.<\/p>\n

Misaligned, it can mean a secret being revealed to the subject\u2019s detriment.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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

even months. Seven months, we\u2019ve been traveling together. We\u2019ve watched over one another, cared for one another, broken bread together, and when it was called for, fought together to protect ourselves and our charges. For seven months, across some sixty-nine hundred miles, we\u2019ve done all of that, sometimes in the face of seemingly unbeatable odds, and not one of us had fallen. And then, today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not Olmas (in spite of his best efforts to do otherwise) or Qatana (who we can\u2019t seem to keep from wandering off) or even Ameiko, but Bevelek. <\/span>Bevelek.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This is not his fight. He and his brother have no quarrel with anyone. They are just here to do a job: to help get us from where we were to where we\u2019re going. They\u2019re not <\/span>involved<\/span><\/i>. Nothing was supposed to happen to them. It\u2019s not <\/span>right<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s pretty much our fault. We thought the passage behind us was safe. We had every reason to think it was safe. Obviously we were wrong. Did we miss a side passage? A secret entrance somewhere? Were we being followed without realizing it? I guess it doesn\u2019t matter. Those are just excuses, and they don\u2019t change the fact I am staring at a burial shroud. We\u2019re supposed to keep these things from happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel sick.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve known him (and his brother) since I was, what, seventeen? They\u2019ve worked as drivers for Sandru\u2019s caravan since the beginning, and I met them in mom and dad\u2019s warehouse that spring when Sandru finally returned to Sandpoint. I\u2019ve always liked them, the little I saw of them. They were friendly, kind of talkative\u2014Bevelek more so than his younger brother\u2014and always made a point to say hello when I was around. Bevelek was especially good at working with the horses, and he\u2019d invite me to come pet them or even help groom them as we were waiting for the wagons to load. This is how I repay that?<\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t get to know him or Vankor very well back then, but in the past several months a lot has come out. Their dad used to run a small courier service of some sort back in Magnimar, but he ran into hard times and that was that. I\u2019ve actually met their sister\u2014I didn\u2019t know who she was at the time\u2014at the Old Fang. They\u2019re still in Magnimar, all of them. Every now and then I see Bevelek writing to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

What else is there to say? Bevelek in particular just seemed to like people, much like Sandru does. He loved being around them, talking to them, hearing their stories. He was so quintessentially Varisian that way. And he loved to travel. This trip was exciting! Dangerous, sure, but that\u2019s why <\/span>we\u2019re<\/span><\/i> here, right? And now we\u2019re talking about him in the past tense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vankor was distraught, practically in shock. Honestly, I could barely face him. Sandru was unreadable. It\u2019s just as well. I don\u2019t know what to say to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

At least we can do something about this. I am determined to, anyway. This journey has been a trial for everyone, in all senses of the word, but there\u2019s also no denying that we have enriched ourselves in the process. We have taken the lion\u2019s share of the spoils since this began. Yes, we have also taken most of the <\/span>risks<\/span><\/i>, too, but we are not the only ones here. We need everyone, and we can\u2019t just turn our backs on those who are supporting us and making this trip possible. We can\u2019t just put Bevelek to the earth like he doesn\u2019t matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

It would be wrong to assume, though, so I broached the subject with Vankor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am sorry about what happened to your brother. We\u2026we may be able to bring him back. But, we don\u2019t want to do this against his wishes or yours. I need to know. Is that something you want us to try?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This took him aback. He looked up at me hopefully.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can bring him back\u2026Yes. Yes! Please! This was\u2026it\u2019s too soon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I nodded, solemnly. \u201cWe can\u2019t do it right away, but\u2014we can do it. We do have to know, though\u2026people get a choice when you try to call them back. It\u2019s a difficult and costly spell. Before we commit to it, do you know\u2026would he <\/span>want<\/span><\/i> to return?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t even hesitate. \u201cYes! I am sure he would. He loved life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have the money. Or rather, we do, just not in the right form. According to Qatana, the spell consumes a single, valuable diamond and ours are too meager to fill that role. There are no gem exchanges or diamond deposits here, obviously, which means we will have to wait until we reach Tian Xia. Koya has agreed to preserve his body using a spell, so we have time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abadius 31 (Uqtaal Necropolis, Night)<\/h3>\n

W<\/span>e need to prevent today\u2019s disaster from playing out again. We can\u2019t be in two places at once, nor can we fight a battle on three fronts. We need to be able to explore ahead and secure our passage through here without worrying about the safety of our camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

The necropolis seems to be guarded by undead. The headless mummies we\u2019ve encountered both along the Path of Spirits and here in the burial chambers seem to be the resident hall monitors, attacking any living thing that enters. What makes them especially dangerous is the aura of paralyzing fear that surrounds them. Get caught off guard, or worn down by the relentless assault on your psyche, and you are overwhelmed by terror and magically rooted to the spot. This is what happened to Olmas two nights ago, to me and several of the others today, and probably to Bevelek before he fell.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our first priority is keeping more of them from coming up from behind us like they did today. Qatana and I have some ideas, but the best ones can\u2019t be acted on until tomorrow so we\u2019re in for another tense night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next on the list are the yeti. Obviously, they did not build this place, but they\u2019re here now. The truth of it is that they are squatters as much as we are trespassers, but from their viewpoint we are invading their home and they\u2019ve been rather aggressive about delivering that message. Not that they\u2019ve actually <\/span>said<\/span><\/i> anything to us, but nothing communicates intent quite like an ambush.<\/span><\/p>\n

The necropolis and the Path of Spirits were carved out of the mountain, and the latter occasionally intersected with naturally formed caverns to form those side passages I spoke of. A rather extensive network of caverns and fissures adjoins the catacombs proper, and the former is where they\u2019ve made their home. They seem to move back and forth between the two. The Uqtaal excavators apparently didn\u2019t care if their necropolis simply opened up to the caverns in places\u2014they may have used the voids in the rock to save time and labor, for all I know\u2014probably because there weren\u2019t yeti living there at the time, and the residents were not alive to complain about the decor.<\/span><\/p>\n

I used one of my newest spells to project my sight and was able to explore much of it, albeit sloppily, until the magic expired. That is how I know all of this. Yes, it was an invasion of their privacy, and yet <\/span>another<\/span><\/i> trespass to add to our list of sins (one that is much worse than the first, if we are keeping track, since it was intentional). I am sure it won\u2019t be the last, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

This actually bothers me. There are wizards who specialize in these sorts of divinations and I am not comfortable around any of them. There is more to the school than what I am doing here, of course, but my problem with it is that there isn\u2019t <\/span>much<\/span><\/i> more. It is a field that is rife for abuse. All it takes is something you owned\u2014even just a piece, really\u2014and someone can spy on you from a distance with a reasonable expectation of success. Possess even the smallest piece of their person, such as a bit of hair or even a nail clipping, and you can nearly do so with impunity. It\u2019s distasteful.<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course I am doing something much like it now. I can argue it, justify it, point out that we were attacked first, but I am still crossing that line. It\u2019s a struggle at first, but each time it gets just a little easier. Mom, and probably dad, would say that the world isn\u2019t so absolute; that it\u2019s a messy place, and circumstances matter. That the stakes matter. Sometimes doing the right thing is not the same as doing the <\/span>right<\/span><\/i> thing<\/span>. <\/span><\/i>This\u2026is probably true. But, sometimes I wonder. What if there really <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> an absolute right and wrong, and all this talk of nuance is just something people use to excuse their own moral failings? Or worse, to justify them. Maybe the world isn\u2019t messy; maybe just people are.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, we need more information about the yeti here, and we need to get it without risking our lives. I\u2019d also like to not risk theirs. Where this falls on the axis of right and wrong, I don\u2019t know, but it\u2019s the best idea I have on a very short list of ideas. So, excuse or justification, I\u2019ll probably be doing this again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before that, however, we need to stop them from raiding us as we explore the pool room. Much like the mummies we need to block them off, only whatever we put up we need to be able to pass through in the future. That limits our options. I have some ideas here, too, but none of them are particularly good.<\/span><\/p>\n

The pool room is the real mystery here, and we need time to uncover it. The revenant\u2014whoever it was in life\u2014was almost certainly slain here. A revenant is born out of hatred and a single-minded purpose: avenge their own death. It\u2019s said they can\u2019t be destroyed until their killer is slain, and we can thank Qatana for validating at least the first half of that theory. (I have to wonder what would happen if you were killed by a revenant and became one yourself. Would the two of you be trapped in an eternal battle, neither of you able to destroy the other?)<\/span><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know how it (he? she?) died originally. We only know it wasn\u2019t the spectres: the body is too far from the water, and the spectres don\u2019t seem to be able to cross beyond the edge of the pool. So, whatever did this is obviously still out there\u2014or, given where we are, still <\/span>around<\/span><\/i>\u2014and able to move about. Which leaves <\/span>three<\/span><\/i> things we have to worry about tonight: mummies, yeti, and something else that we haven\u2019t seen yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because what we need after today is <\/span>another fucking challenge<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Abadius 31, 4713 (evening, Uqtaal necropolis) The Hidden Truth symbolizes the ability to see past the obvious and the banal to a greater truth within. Sometimes this discovery is an esoteric one, sometimes it is a literal find, such as an item revealed within a room. Regardless, it is a card with the power to […]<\/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-2963","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\/2963","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=2963"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5693,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963\/revisions\/5693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}