IT BEGINS…

Here starts the journal of Makenna Obun-Sai, sister to Ronyn Obun-Sai, daughter of Niamh, granddaughter of Saoirse, from the clan of Obun-Sai. My clan were performers, traveling from town to town to entertain the folk with our amazing acts of balancing, juggling, and acrobatics. Our entire clan was killed or enslaved by Dragonborn.  We know not their clan, just that they dragged us across the Endless Sea of Sand and into the darkness of their prisons. 

It can’t be said we didn’t try to escape.  Ronyn and I tried, but each time we were dragged back, and more chains were placed on us.  Each attempt put us in the hole only to be let out to mine the iron the dragnborn so wanted.   Everything is made of iron down here; wood is very scarce – here tell more valuable than coin to some.  After our third attempt at escape the chain was but five feet between us and we had to learn a new way to walk – which wasn’t hard for us, as my sister and I were always attuned to one another.  Ronyn is a mere 11 months older than me.  We were both born under the Winter Moon, but Ronyn is a true elf with her cascading red hair and piercing blue eyes that can nail you to a wall when she is irked with you.  While she is flame, I am darkness, with a black mane and eyes the sign of my shifter self. Never were two closer than Ronyn and I – since we were but toddlers we began training on our act and were accomplished acrobats when we were captured.

Things began to get interesting when an odd lizard creature started sweeping near our cell.  “Pinroy sweeping sweep, sweep, sweep” he sang to himself.  We watched him in silence until he threw a balled-up parchment at us and whispered very loudly “From Oberon.  Pinroy sweep, sweep, sweep.”

The note was from a fellow prisoner who wanted us to be part of a larger escape plan.  Ronyn and I decided that maybe we needed help since ours always ended in solitary and more chains.  We wrote back we were in and should be out of solitary in a fortnight. That night we started cutting through our chains with an iron shard we obtained from our waste bucket.

We began to count down the days and a day shy of a fortnight we were brought up to the main population prison.  Solitary had its perks; we didn’t have to fight for a piece of floor to sit on or share or slop or waste bucket…and the smell. 

We saw Pinroy sweeping the halls and I asked him who was Oberon.  He pointed to a gray-skinned white-haired humanoid talking to a blue skinned humanoid.  The blue fellow did not seem very happy at whatever Oberon said and went and sat in the middle of the room and started meditating of all things.  Oberon motioned to us, and we went further from the guards, and he told us of the plan.  Apparently, there were some dwarven miners who were digging a tunnel down to some maintenance tunnels which we will follow to get out of the prison.  The dwarves think we should be ready to go in two days hence.

I was curious about the blue fellow. Oberon said he was fresh meat and was going to give way our plan as he was searching the walls to find a way to escape.  I sat down in front of him, and he told me his name was Wave and he was a sailor and had been a slave since he was a child.  He seemed very sad and said he couldn’t smell the ocean in here…of course not, we aren’t near the ocean, and nobody had bathed in months.  He did not know why he was sold to the dragonborn or why he was here.  He does not like Oberon and said he was a bully.  I said that sometimes to survive you have to bully, but I didn’t like Oberon either. I did ask him to stop checking the walls as there was no escape that way.

Ronyn was not happy with me.  As always, I talk too much, but she talks to little.  How are we supposed to get information if we lean against the wall with arms crossed glaring at everyone.  “Don’t get too close.” She warned.  “I won’t.” I knew our plan, to escape…no matter what. 

The next two days were endless.  We mined ore, we ate slop, we fought to find enough floor to sleep on and Ronyn is ever watchful.  Since we’ve been captured, she has been my protector, never far (well we can’t go far as our chain is only five feet!), always watching.  I am lucky to have such a sister.

Pinroy has taken a shine to my sister…well to my sister’s red hair.  He always seems to sweep near where she is and talks about her red crest.  I don’t think Ronyn is very flattered.  Oberon assures her he is harmless, something about female lizards having a red crest…that doesn’t make Ronyn feel any better. 

Finally, the day was here.  Pinroy was cleaning the main cell and according to Oberon he got let out when he tells the guards he is done.  Apparently, the guards don’t like Pinroy but Pinroy thinks that one day he will rise to dragonborn status and sees them as almost godlike.  Oberon has somehow convinced Pinroy to help us and in return one day Pinroy will come back as grand cleric and all the dragonborn will love him.  According to Oberon, Pinroy has been essential to the plan procuring candles, rope, fint/steel, a tinderbox and even a dagger for Oberon…well a letter open but sharp as a dagger.  Oberon’s crew of five other mercenaries who call themselves the red rags, have shives as well. 

I tell Oberon we should go right after we get back from the mines as that will give us the most time before the guards realize 10 of us are missing.  Hopefully they will forget about Pinroy.  Oberon gave a shive to Pinroy and Ronyan and passed out healing kits, and gave me one healing potion.  Suddenly, one of the dwarf miners runs up to Oberon and says they have broken through to a cavern below and one of his men has fallen through.  “We go,” Oberon says.  Surprisingly, Wave is part of the group.

Oberon and his men led the way.  The tunnel is tight – 3 feet high and 3 feet wide.  We must crawl to get through.  Penroy was behind me muttering something about 13 rats.  We heard shouts ahead and Ronyn, who was ahead of me, called out that we must climb down and there seems to be some sort of fight below her.  Before I can answer she disappeared, and I climb down behind her. 

We were in a collapsed room with debris all around us.  One part of the ceiling looked like it was about to give way as water trickled through it at an alarming rate.  The center of the room was a pool of water with a tentacle creature.  Oberon and his men were fighting three tentacles and Wave was heading into the water.  I saw the head of the creature on the other side.  “Sister,” I called, “Get to the head.”

Ronyn nodded and I shifted into my birthright, a touch of werewolf power sending me scurrying past Ronyn and Oberon toward the head.  Wave had the same idea just goes up the middle into the water. He walked right up to the head of the beast and punched it…but not like I punch punch…with the heel of his hand.  I’d never seen anything like it.  Three of the red rags and I renewed our efforts to hit the head, but Wave hit time and time again until the creature disappeared in a cloud of black ink. 

Oberon and one of his men were hurt and the dwarf miner was pulled under. I can only assume the creature ate him.  Wave, who didn’t seem to mind the inky water dove under and we waited anxiously until he resurfaced and put 10 gems in front of us and dove down again and again and bringing up 5 gp, 30 sp; rusty set of chain mail; rusty hand axe; rusty short word; 2 rusty pickaxe heads; 2 pieces of a long sword; war pick head.

We also found in the debris pile: 5 rusty pick axe heads; broken handle of a long sword;  rusty short sword; rusty dagger without a hilt. Pinroy stuffed 3 tentacles into the food sack.

The door out of this room didn’t have a handle so we attach our chain and pulled, and the door finally opened.  One miner came with us while we left the others behind and one of Oberon’s red rags to wait word to see if we could get out.  I’m not sure who was going back to tell this guy we’ve escaped but I do know it won’t be Ronyn or me.

We headed down a hallway and came to a T-junction.  Oberon noticed something odd in one of the walls and called the miner who came with us.  He noticed a loose brick and when he pulled it out there was an ornate gold box.  Oberon said it was the name of the dragonborn whose box it probably was – Sesters Silktongue. I opened it and, in the velvet, lined box was an ornate golden dagger – not great for fighting and really wished it was an iron dagger, but if we ever get out of here it will fetch a pretty penny.  Beside the dagger there was 30 gp, 50 sp; 30 cp and a small gem.  We had no time to care about gems and coin.  I stuffed it in my burlap sack, and we went right.  We came to a door that looked as if it had sunk into the floor.  There was an opening above it.  Ronyn alley-ooped me in and I saw four pillars and a stone sarcophagus with some fancy soldier carved on the top.  I scrambled inside and Ronyn soon joined me.  While we pushed and the men pulled the door slid open. 

The room was covered in dust except there was what looked like skeleton footprints leading to the door in the back of the room.  I did not like the idea of a skeleton and really didn’t like the idea of disturbing the tomb of Grand General Rexis.  But we did try and I was a little relieved the lid would not move.  Wave dusted off the wall and saw a mural of a great battle scene between the Dragonborn and the Undead.  On the undead side a mage was depicted with a staff in one hand and a sword in the other.  Penroy got very excited and said he knew that battle it was depicted all over the dragonborn temple and prison, some great battle the Dragonborn won…the Battle of Fingerling. I think he made that name up.

We decided to forsake the way the skeleton footprints went and go the other way – Oberon did not seem to like this muttering about something might be coming behind us, but I rather go forward than face the undead thing behind the door.

At the end of the other hallway was a door that was beat up.  The stone was cracked and where the handle was just a hole. Oberon peered through and said he saw two skeletons and some bunk beds.  Wave did a movement with his hands, and we heard the skeletons groan inside.  “One is coming toward us, and one is running,” Wave said.  “I’ll do another acid splash.”   He did that strange movement with his hands, and he peered in.  “He’s down, rooms clear.”

Oberon sent his red rags in, and the men were suddenly attacked by giant rats.  “RATS!” Penroy yelled from behind.  “Big, juicy, RATS!”

We barreled in after the red rags and quickly dispatched the rats.  But not before one ripped open my leg.  Penroy, who just bit the head off one rat and was noisily crunching offered to patch me up.  He slurped the tail and I hear Ronyn gagging behind me.  “Wipe your mouth first, Penroy, you have a little something.” Penroy wiped and smiled a bloody smile. I stuck my leg out and shut my eyes.  He did an excellent job, but I’ll still probably get some kind of rat disease.

I limped over to Ronyn.  “You stay behind me, understand?” I nod.

Oberon picked up the skeleton’s rusty short sword that looked in a bit better shape than Ronyn’s and mine.

We looked around and it seemed we were in some barracks.  Wave tested the bunkbed wood but said it was too damaged to be used for handles for the two pickaxes, but Oberon started to pull the beds apart.  “Torches,” he grinned. He made five.

Wave began to open up the chests, and hundreds of moths filled the room.  What clothing was in those chests were long gone, but there were chain shirts – six in all.  We divvied them up.  I decided not to wear  mine – it was just too bulky and noisy. Maybe along the way we’ll find some nice leather armor like Ronyn and I used to have. Along with the chain shirts Wave found 50 gp in a pouch and 100 sp in a pouch. Again – coinage not so helpful. Non-rusty weapons helpful. A crossbow with bolts – oh a girl can wish.

Pinroy started heading down the hall, very happy and full of rat but he stopped when he got to the top of the stairs and called Oberon to him.  “There are five skeletons playing with a rat down there,” he said.  Oberon peered down and turned to Pinroy, “Are you sure?” Pinroy nodded.  “Pinroy sees really good in dark, far far in dark.”

We stood in the hall and discussed.  Oberon and Pinroy wanted to go back and take the other room with the skeleton footprint and Ronyn and I wanted to continue forward and create a bottle neck and take the skeletons one on one. We heard pounding coming from behind us…from the closed room.  Wave suddenly barreled passed us and throws an acid splash in the room and one of the skeletons kicked the rat straight at Wave’s face.  There is only room for him and Oberon on the stairs and we will have to deal with whatever is coming behind us. One of the red rags stands fast and Ronyn and I prepare the Black Widow if he goes down.

We heard Oberon crying out in pain and the door to the bunkbed room clanged open.  We peered around the corner to see a skeleton with a broom sweeping away the other skeleton and then a man walked in…well the head of a man and the body of a skeleton.  He was carrying a glass staff.  “Leave my realm” he boomed.  “We are,” I cried and yelled Oberon and Wave to hurry up.

When we peek again a HUGE skeleton stomps through the door. Apparently, we are not leaving fast enough.  A dragonborn voice calls behind them and the two skeletons turned and head toward it. But the man-skeleton or “Mr. Fancy Pants” as Ronyn called him, turns to the red rag and spectral hand grasped his neck choking him.  We could do nothing as he goes down, his skin and lips tinged blue as if he were out in the cold.

“Clear!” yelled Oberon and we run down the hallway into the room.  Mr. Fancy Pants followed and told us once again to leave and not return.  We heard the doors slam behind him. I don’t know about the rest of my fellow escapees, but I know that Ronyn and I have no plans to return…but how will the rest of the prisoners get out?