Agatha’s Journal

Somewhere Deep Underground, Buried in Troll Rocks

This is not how I imagined my day ending—huddled in a magical bubble while trolls pile rocks on top of it like they’re tucking us in for a long nap we’re never waking up from. This is not how battles are supposed to work.

But I suppose I should start from the beginning.

The Mindflayer & the Fish People

I woke up locked in a room. That was my first warning that the day was going to be difficult. The second was the loud crash outside.

Turns out, while Kvothe and I were busy being knocked unconscious by a Womp Womp, the rest of the party was fighting Kuo-Toa—horrible, fish-faced monsters that should have stayed in whatever cursed abyss spat them out. Once we managed to revive ourselves, we joined the battle.

We won, of course, but the loot was underwhelming.

• 4 sticky shields (which no one really wants to touch)
• 4 spears (one’s broken, so that’s useful)
• A staff with a lobster claw (I don’t even know what to say about this one)

More important than the fish fight, however, was the meeting we had with a Mindflayer.

He wanted spellcasters as tribute. We, understandably, told him no. But rather than fight an elder brain’s lackey in the moment, we handed over 200 gold as a “gesture of goodwill.” I don’t like paying off mind-eating horrors, but I like dying even less.

Rindle, clever as ever, placed a rope inside the Mindflayers' chest and kept another piece with the Septarch. The idea is that when he gives the signal, the Septarch can scry on the rope and figure out where the Mindflayers are hiding. A fine plan—assuming Rindle doesn’t get himself eaten before he can give the signal.

Returning to the Deep Gnomes & The Derro’s Return

With the fish people and tentacle monsters dealt with for the moment, we returned to check in with Bogani about our little troll problem.

On the way, a Deep Gnome popped out of a wall to warn us: the Derro were back. We should have expected that they wouldn’t take losing well. Kvothe went invisible to scout (because of course he did) and confirmed that the massive double doors were shut and guarded.

Then he stepped on a magical rune that lit up and made a loud “ding” sound.

Subtlety is not Kvothe’s strong suit.

Loud over the top violence is apparently all our strong suit and we quickly removed the Derro as a threat.  I have a feeling that isn't the last time we're going to have to deal with them though.

Hunting Trolls (Because We Make Great Choices)

Bogani still needed us to deal with the trolls, so we pressed on.

Kvothe, ever the scout, found a smelly reptilian creature (probably a Troglodyte), and before we could say hello, it tried to kill him. We took care of it. Then we lured a troll into a passageway and took care of that, too. We even kept a toe as a trophy, because why not?

We returned to Bogani’s tunnels for a rest, knowing we had bigger fights ahead. And sure enough, the next day, we went back to the troll-infested passageway and fought four more trolls.

Trolls are terrible enemies. They regenerate, they smell, and they hit like warhammers. But we won, and that should have been the worst of it.

It wasn’t.

An Ambush & Why Trolls Shouldn’t Be This Smart

We set up a Tiny Hut to rest, figuring we’d finally get some peace. Instead, a group of Troglodytes crossed the bridge near us. Rindle, ever the druid, decided to feed them. That apparently made them happy enough to take down the Tiny Hut and leave.

That should have been our warning.

We set up another Tiny Hut to finish our rest, and that’s when the trolls started piling rocks on top of it.

Yes. Rocks.

Because trolls have learned about gravity.

So now we’re stuck, waiting in this bubble of magic while the trolls do their best to bury us alive. When the spell drops, we’re going to be standing in a neat little pile of stones, right at their feet.

I have several regrets about today.

But at least it won’t be boring.