Welcome to Cove

Journey To The Center Of Sosaria

Lead by: Mela, Junior Scout
Attended by:
Hoagie, Junior Dragoon
Drake Reilly, Watchman
Eyrothath, Guardsman Recruit

In truth, I'm not sure precisely how deep we descended beneath the world we know, but needless to say we left sunlight far behind in the process. After a "special" sentry duty, Mela asked if some of us would mind assisting her with a task she had been given. I'm rather clueless when it comes to mystical techniques and mechanisms, but from what I gathered she was charged with retrieving materials, a powder of some sort, which are to be used in the translocations of objects. I scratched my head at the description of the items, but if it served Cove to possess these resources then I would see to it that Cove acquired it.
   I had heard of these labrynthine tunnels which worm their way beneath our feet, but never had cause to walk among them until today. The four of us traveled to Trinsic, where, not far from the eternal walls of that city, there lay a nondescript fissure in a small grove. After tying one end to a nearby tree, the rope was tossed down into the opening, it's slack length twisting into the darkness like a serpent falling on a mouse. I didn't entirely trust the line to hold, though we made it down without incident.
   The tunnels were immediately recognizable as unnatural. Their sleek form and purposeful paths made it clear they had been carved, hollowed, and planned by intelligences. I was struck by their scale; I reclined my head to try and take it all in. We were in alien terrain and already the shaft of sunlight petered out far above our heads.

(http://home.comcast.net/~maginnis/mquest2.jpg)

   Just as I'd heard tales of these corridors, I'd likewise heard about their occupants. I was not sure what degree of threat they'd pose, though there was no concern in my mind. Our force was fully capable of taking on any challenge. It was not long before we encountered the insectan race. In a disgusting display, they did excrete some noxious, viscous fluid that was plainly harmful to us. The liquid had a tendency to seep into the cracks of our armor, however minute, and even corrode new holes through our defenses.

(http://home.comcast.net/~maginnis/mquest1.jpg)

   We continued on through the meandering burrows, readily slaying any of the various strange and unusual creatues that happened into our path. Mela told us that she intended to try and communicate with the matriarch of the society, in order to procure the magical substances. Apparently some amount of cooperation was in order with this race of screeching exoskeletons. I don't think I truly believed her intentions of communication until she stood face-to-face with the colony's queen. Tense moments followed. I gathered that we were all on edge, each of us prepared to leap to Mela's side should the queen attack our friend on the whim of some perceived insult.

(http://home.comcast.net/~maginnis/mquest3.jpg)
(http://home.comcast.net/~maginnis/mquest4.jpg)

   Finally, an agreement was reached. We would put our skills to use and assault the enemies of the queen. Five of her prominent rivals were hunted down and slaughtered, and in the process, so too were countless of the colony's numbers. From having taken part in the struggle to liberate Vesper, I am no stranger to the sounds of battle. But the deathcries of those creatues, the echoing, vibrating shrieks that were entirely removed from anything human, those will stay with me for a few nights. On returning to the queen's chamber, and further providing her with the fungus necessary to produce the sorcerous dust, we were pleased to find that she lived up to her end. We had aquired the necessary supplies, the dust of translocation.
   Not surprisingly, none of us wished to remain among the foreign nests any longer than we already had. We exited through the nearest viable route to the surface, content to have an open sky and warm sun overhead. Willing to overlook the snooty murmurs of it's citizens, I was happy to be among the familiar architecture of Trinsic. It was a bit chilling to think of what world lay beneath our homes, and just what we had stirred up in those under-lands. But I quickly shrugged off those thoughts. We decided to unwind in the tavern, where we all had a bit too much ale and made fun of that one Trinsician, the guy with the lisp.

(http://home.comcast.net/~maginnis/mquest5.jpg)

Smashing report! Well done Drake.

*Signed*

Mela