CelexistentialCrisis

We decided to go into the cavern and take on the Bone Golem with a decent strategy. We allowed Lia to go in with Pimbul as a bat in her pocket so that she could sneak up on the creature and get a powerful blow before we could go into the fight and overwhelm it with our numbers and magic power. Everyone else was doing so well, hitting every attack with no effort, but I struggled. No matter what instrument I used, no matter how hard I focused, I never seemed to hit the damn thing. Perhaps I was just disoriented because I knew what awaited in the city? I could only assume that was the case. Because there was a mix of emotions beginning to brew inside of my heart as we fought. There was happiness, fear, anger, and something I wasn’t quite familiar with and couldn’t quite describe.. It was difficult focusing on the task at hand. 

    Soon enough, the others laid the final blow, and to make myself useful, I decided to scout ahead using one of the spells Da taught me for when I was in a bit of trouble and needed to disappear into safety. I knew if I used my time wisely, I could give them information, which I did my best to do so. Once the spell was cast, the party wished me off so that I could go ahead and find out what exactly we were going up against.

As I entered, I immediately noticed more of the Bone Golems we had fought at the mouth of the cave just moments before now. Though I was invisible to the naked eye, I still snuck past them into a hallway with three arches. Above each, there was a glowing symbol. There were some I could not figure out, but from the ones I saw and recognized, these were the symbols of the schools of magic. In another one of the corridors, there were more of these arches and a door that seemed to have 8 keyholes on it, bearing the same 8 symbols I saw. This all seemed to be one giant puzzle to me. I snuck past the Bone Golems once again just before the spell ended, meeting back up with them to explain exactly what I saw.

    The magic users seemed to have a basic understanding of what was in that dungeon of sorts. Though my explanation wasn’t perfect, since I couldn’t recognize all of the symbols I saw. We were originally going to go in and destroy one Bone Golem at a time, but Orel noticed something; there was a glowing orb at a decent height above us. He tried to speak to it, only to receive no response. But we knew someone was listening and watching us. It probably saw me cast my spell and enter the halls further inside the cavern. Now I was more on edge than I was before. After a little while of them trying to communicate, Orel stepped forward to face the next Bone Golem that stood in our way, now beginning to talk to it. He told the creature that we were going to play along with its master’s game, solve its master’s puzzles, and handle this in a peaceful manner. I almost didn’t believe it when the Golem lowered its defenses, along with all of the other ones that I saw within the other corridors. How Orel had managed to do that, I’ve no idea, but it would be a lot easier to get through this without the Golems ready to attack and kill us all.

When we went into one of the corridors, and entered one of the rooms. I stayed a bit towards the back of the group. I was still slightly upset at how I had fought earlier, and I was afraid that Dorn was angry with me because of what happened in the Tavern a few days ago.. Was he angry with me? We haven’t talked at all since- What is going on with me? I need to pull it together. Especially since someone seemed to have stepped onto a trap and summoned a hostile Bone Golem into the room. Well, this was just lovely, wasn’t it? Once again, the fight went horribly wrong for me, and I was almost petrified when Orel was trapped in a cage of bone and knocked unconscious. If he were hit any harder, I was afraid he would have died on the spot. We couldn’t risk taking any more damage after that. Once the final blow against the Golem was struck, he was seemingly evaporated by Esteem’s powerful magic. Though it was impressive, we had to help Orel and take the time to rest and regain our strength. I couldn’t possibly sleep, as much as I tried. There were too many thoughts and memories of Da running through my mind. All I could do was strum the strings of my lute quietly, waiting for the others to get the sleep they needed.

The morning after that ale was a delirious one for me when I first entered the mess hall. A few members of our party were already there enjoying some breakfast foods provided by the Countess. It smelled delicious, and I was about to sit down and eat until Dorn approached me and asked me to talk to him alone. Curious about what was going on, I accepted. We went off to the side so that we could remain in privacy. He told me that Countess Gedala had offered to knight him, though he would have to swear fealty to her and come back to Cladehin if she ever had a need for his service. I was very surprised that he even made the approach to talk to me alone. We may have helped each other in previous quarrels, but I was surprised he trusted me so quickly. Though I was beginning to trust him more than I trusted much of anyone else; I could tell he was a genuinely good person. When he told me this news and asked me for my advice, I couldn’t help but smile up at him. I told him that he was more than deserving of this knightly title, and that if he were to be called back to Cladehin, I would follow him. If he watches my back, I’ll always be there to watch his, I said. He seemed a bit more confident about asking the party about the knighting. I was just glad I could help him.

After talking with the party about it, we decided that the ceremony should take place as soon as possible so that we could leave the city quickly. And once again, Dorn surprised me. Gedala asked him if he wanted to choose a witness for the ceremony, and he chose me without hesitation and a bright smile. I was beyond flattered, to be quite honest. I know how important becoming a knight can be, I’ve heard many stories and met many knights from different towns over my travels. It is an honorable title, and he wanted me to be there with him when he earned it. Perhaps I’m overthinking it slightly. I am making quite a big deal out of nothing, aren’t I? Oh well, needless to say, I was proud to be a chosen witness for an important event like this one. And afterwards, I offered to take the party to the tavern in order to celebrate. Everyone seemed quite eager, perhaps because I was buying. I had the coin to spare, and I had to express my gratitude for my acceptance among them somehow. And so we went to the Tavern to propose a toast to the new knight, Sir Dorn, Knight of Cladehin, and Vengeance Paladin of Beata.

When we arrived at the Tavern, everyone ordered their beverage of choice, mine being my usual sweet Mead. Pimbul seemed to enjoy the same drink as me, and I really should have noticed the normal portion he received before he got himself drunk. Though it was quite amusing at first, he seemed especially keen in the fighting ring and a certain man lingering about it. He was very obviously full of himself, seemingly ready to prove his worth in the ring in a heartbeat. I didn’t notice what was happening, simply enjoying my drink that I bought, before I heard the painfully average looking human man cry out at Pimbul. I glanced over, and he seemed to be climbing him. At first, I couldn’t help but snicker. But then the man grabbed Pimbul by the hair and attempted to throw him across the room. By now, I saw red. Though I may not know the young halfling well, I knew I needed to stand up for him. So I challenged him to a fight in the ring.

I did my best to fool him at first, testing his boundaries to see just how egotistical he was; but I hesitated for a moment too long and he quickly gained the advantage of the fight. I tried my hardest, but hand to hand isn’t exactly my expertise. He quickly won, and I was knocked out just as easily as I was in the forest. When I woke again, I saw that Dorn was the one that brought me back into consciousness. Again. My face flushed with embarrassment. I lost that fight miserably, only fueling the human man’s ego further, and Dorn was the one to help me. That only worsened my debt. But did the man who beat me have no respect? He even thought to challenge anyone who dared to fight, not even acknowledging my efforts to fight for my young friend. And much to my dismay, after Dorn and Nalla discussed for a moment who should avenge Pimbul and I, the Dragonborn stepped forward, eager to fight the man who had knocked me unconscious. From where I was against the wall, I could only watch and hope for my companion’s victory.

He fought well, spitting out threats and snarky remarks as he punched, kicked, sparred, and pinned the human man down. Though things began to get a little too close to call for my liking, and I did my best to help my friend in any way I possibly could without using magic; inspiration. Though that did something, it simply wasn’t enough, as Dorn was knocked unconcious. It was time for me to get even once more, dragging him away from the ring, touching his arm and singing my song of healing quietly, bringing him back into consciousness. Now the Dragonborn seemed upset. I asked him if he was alright, before muttering under my breath that he didn’t have to fight in that ring for me or my honor. He snapped at me, saying “Who says I did it for you?” This caught me off guard. It almost hurt my feelings, so I dismissed myself to get him some water to drink.

While I did so, the man only seemed to drag more of us into trouble. I’m not exactly sure what went down, but I heard yet another cry of outrage and then a racist slur towards Nalla, and then an accusation of.. Witchcraft.. Hearing that word only further soured my mood. It brought back so many memories that I did not want to relive. I was too tuned out in my own mental prison to realize that Nalla and the human proposed a duel to take place tomorrow evening at dusk. I was trying to calm myself down from the memories flooding into my mind, finishing up my mead before going back to the Keep, since we would apparently be here for another day or two. When I found a chance, I took the opportunity to talk to Nalla personally. I told him that I understood the situation and accusations he had received, and that I would be there to support him if he should wish it. After that, I needed to rest, though I knew I would have trouble sleeping.

For the next day, I wouldn’t do much of anything; all I could really do was wait for this dueling incident to pass on. I stayed in the keep until the night that the duel was supposed to take place, wanting to keep my promise to Nalla that if he should need me, I would be there. Luckily, with Dorn as Nalla’s second, there was a peace negotiated between the two parties, and we would be able to leave at first light tomorrow. This time, I would let someone else take the horse’s reins and I would be riding in the carriage. I got the feeling that I would not want to ride a horse for a very long time after the incident in the forest. Hopefully they would understand..

    The first night staying in the forest seemed peaceful once we made some more progress travelling along the road. Things seemed peaceful now, and I could only pray to whoever would listen that we would remain safe. Perhaps Beata, since Dorn is a devout follower? She should probably be the focus of my prayers after all, I suppose. Maybe a hymn or little tune may bless our long journeys ahead of us. I’ll have to think of some lyrics soon, perhaps when I’m doing my watch for the next few nights. I know I will not be able to sleep as well, so I may as well make some use of myself. I watched for an hour this night, before preparing to leave for the main road to Crossholm, where we were summoned by the former Count. As we travelled closer to the famous trading city, we ran into a few unusual things that sent shivers down my spine. We saw and helped a human man who claimed to have been attacked by humans, sending him to Cladehin where he could go to find food and rest. We also saw the man who delivered the Count’s letter, dead. He seemed to have the life quite literally sucked out of him, by some magical means. I was startled by it, to say the least..

That night, I would be the last to take watch, after Lia and Dyn. I slept as best as I could, until I heard Dyn shriek in fear and pain, waking me up from my slumber. I quickly unsheathed my weapon, leaving my tent to see a dog- no, a beast, entering Orel’s tent that was next to the right of mine. I saw Dyn unconscious next to the campfire, and everyone beginning to stir awake from their own tents. I heard some shuffling next to me, and I looked to see what looked like a cloaked figure, but only for a split second before hiding in the shadows. I figured it would be a safe idea to hide in the shadows as well, going to the side of my tent. Many immediately moved to attack the beast hurting Orel, though some were trying to find the figure lurking around us. I tried to handle both, using spells on the beast and looking around to find the figure before deciding it best to focus on one area where I could be the most helpful. 

    Dorn was the one to slay the beast, and I heard a few slashes of a blade coming from Lia’s direction, but when the battle was over, the figure had escaped. The beast was like nothing I had ever seen; it was enhanced with a magic I had only heard of rarely in Da’s stories; blood magic, a dark form of necromancy that most never talk or hear about. There was something wrong coming our way; I knew it. Once I made sure to help the injured, I decided to take my watch as I had initially planned. I knew the cloaked figure probably wouldn’t come back, and we would be safe, at least until the dawn comes.

The next day as we travelled, we were finally able to see Crossholm off of the horizon; and the hordes upon hordes of undead that the Count spoke of in the letter. There was very powerful magic being performed here, that I could easily tell. After a long, long while of discussion and debate, we decided to send Pimbul with a sending stone the party received before I arrived to talk to the guards at the gate so that we could find a way to enter the city. Dorn had the other so that he could be the one to talk to the guards once Pimbul arrived safely, which he did. Dorn began talking with a guard, who sent the stone to be replicated by a mage and given to the guard’s captain, Captain Suder. For a moment, Dorn began talking about bringing in help from Cladehin, but I was quite quick to make him shut his trap. I knew the Count would likely still be in the city, and I don’t think any of us were prepared to deal with the Countess finding out that her father’s death was a fake. When I gave him the dirtiest glare I could muster, he quickly caught onto my point and perished the thought of bringing Cladehin’s help.

Hi there, my name is Celeste and I have decided that I need a place to post all of the stuff I write about my Dungeons and Dragons campaign. This is my first campaign with my first genuine character, so this means a lot more to me than even I think. I'll be posting my character's backstory, short stories of the time between her backstory and her time with the current adventures she's in, and her narratives with each session.

Some more about my character:

Her name is Rivari Ceoli, she is a level 5 Tiefling bard class. She has purple skin, dark purple hair, golden eyes and black horns. She is anywhere from 18-21 in game since she does not know her real age. She is 100% in a slowburn romance with our party's Red Dragonborn Paladin named Dorn and no one can change my mind.

Also, if you have any questions at all about my character, the other characters in my campaign, or the homebrew world building my fabulous DM (also my boyfriend) has created, then please ask me! I will get back to you and answer as quickly as possible to the best of my ability!

Don’t sue me, I’m not liable for any heart attacks you may have lmao

2: Least favorite hero?

3: What do you think is the most useful class?

4: Favorite attack hero?

5: Favorite defense hero?

6: Favorite tank hero?

7: Favorite support hero?

8: What kind of hero would you like to see added to the game?

9: Ships?

10: What's your favorite short?

11: Favorite comic?

12: What character interactions do you wish we saw more of?

13: Talon or Overwatch?

14: Against the omnics or in support of them?

15: What's your favorite map?

16: What's your favorite type of gameplay (capture the point, escort the payload, etc.)

17: Who needs a buff?

18: Who needs a nerf?

19: Most difficult hero to play as?