Corim's Thoughts

I know what I must do. I don't know if I can.

Things were so much less complicated just a few days ago.

Only a being of great evil could do the things this ur-priest has done and speak so matter-of-factually about it. He must die. No one seems willing to do it. Kelestri thinks she can outwit him. He has no wit, only greed and disdain. Animosus seems to think that letting him go would do little harm. I think he is blinded by the possibility of greater glory. The ur-priest is the only reason the Baneites have been so successful so far. Without him they would at least be slowed. I don't know where Slyl has run off to.

It was a very chaotic, what? half an hour. I can't believe it has happened so fast.

Slyl came back, followed by the orc chief. I went to the side of the doorway to wait for him to come through, when all of sudden I found myself running in fear. I hadn't been afraid two seconds before so I was kind angry at the same time. I thought, "That orc must have cast a spell on us." When the fear had passed, I ran back as fast as I could.

I had to tumble off the wall to get past the monk and his friend, but I couldn't hit him. He tried to push past us, but that was a mistake. We three all got good hits on him, even though he still got through, and he was bleeding as he ran. The funny thing was,even though he looked like an orc, my short sword didn't react to him. It should have dug into him. Maybe he wasn't an orc. hmmm.

Animosus had been between the "orc" and the Baneite, he took a lot of damage. I switched to my longsword, and with the "orc" gone we had no trouble finishing him off.

Pavel found a villager hiding in some cubbyhole, he told us there were more still alive deeper in the tunnels. Kelestri had run into the "orc" on her way back and captured him. He wasn't an orc, he was some kind of spellcaster.

Slyl and I took point and searched the rest of the complex. Slyl had gone on ahead and found a room full of dead bodies. I looked for signs of life, but found none. We could hear chanting further ahead and came upon an evil rite in progress. Pavel was maddened and charged forward. I think he said something about saving the children. There were two priests and two guards. They had a man on the altar with tubes hooked up to him and it looked like they were draining his blood. I then saw what Pavel was talking about, a cage, with some children in it. One of the priests just fell down as we closed to battle them. Pavel knocked him back down when he tried to rise and I took that opportunity to finish him off. Leaf took the other one out with one single shot from his crossbow. WOW. Most impressive. I looked around and found only one guard still standing, so I took a swing and down he went.

While Alyona and Pavel freed the children, I unhooked that poor villager from the tubes and things that were draining his blood.(Can I say again just how much Bane and his twisted followers sicken me.) I asked if anyone had any potions of healing, but no one heard me, I guess. We left that evil place very swiftly. Leaf seemed to take the whole thing pretty hard, I hope he doesn't leave this group. He's a good fellow.

We went back to the tavern, the survivors were really glad to see each other. Kelestri hauled the fake orc chief out of that ruined temple so we could question him. I suggested we take him to the blacksmith's shop to interrogate him. Kelestri asked Animosus and Pavel to let herself, Slyl, and me handle the questioning. They agreed. I told Kelestri to stoke up the fire and she seemed really happy to do it. She started to question him and he demanded a chair to sit on. She gave it to him! It went downhill from there. He kept asking if he told us everything, would we give him his potion and let him go. Kelestri never gave him a real answer, but he told us some stuff we already suspected. To show how much he COULD tell us, I think. Animosus showed up and Kelestri asked him to see if he could tell if this guy was as innocent as he claimed. After staring at him for half a minute, he said he would give him the potion if he was satisfied with the information he could give us.

Then this ur-priest starts yelling,"Where is the potion?". That's when I noticed Slyl was gone. I think he may have had it and didn't want to give it up, as it could let you take a gaseous form.

He is not going to tell us anything really useful and he is not begging for his life. He thinks we are stupid and easily manipulated. He IS too dangerous to let go free.

I have to do it. For the couple in the field. For the survivors of Many Oaks. For the Colms, though they know nothing of what's going on here, who taught of the kindness of the Earthmother. For all of them and more, I can't let this monster go.

I can't. Let my had be steady as I do this.

Die you abomination, Die!!