Dexter's Journal

9/23/18

We proceeded with our quest to hunt a Kuthrik Hivelord. I do worry that leaving that Firesong chief unchecked for too long will lead to problems later, but given our previous encounters I feel we simply lack the strength to challenge him. I'm hoping that these lower-ranking missions will allow us to build up the resources necessary to challenge this chief.

Met up with the quest-poster. Apparently he's a tinkerer of some kind who's convinced that replacing his body parts with machinery is the key to self-improvement. On one hand, my natural instincts feel that this is wrong--a perversion of our God-given flesh. On the other hand, his quest for strength is not much different than my own. When asked about the dangers of the wasteland he seemed unconcerned. Is this because he's confident in his strength? Or has he lost so much of his humanity that he no longer feels fear? He seeks to obtain something from a Kuthrik Hivelord in order to advance his experiments. He describes these Kuthrik as hybrid mechanical/organic creatures. Their origin is not fully known; some believe they're of the design of the original makers, while others feel they are an experiment gone awry.

The nest is two days by foot. We were unable to locate a skiff for travel, so instead we purchased a cart from a local trader to hold the supplies necessary for our journey. Ron was able to summon a magical steed to haul the cart carrying our supplies. We were able to reach the Kuthrik hive without incident.

Upon reaching the hive we witnessed a Scorned being dragged by his feet into the Kuthrik's lair. Without warning Eury dashed out towards the hive, summoning a pack of wolves and transforming into one himself (herself? itself?). Leugus had warned us that these creatures detect their prey through sound, and yet here we were creating a ruckus that would wake the dead.

In the end, we somehow managed to rescue the Scorned, at the expense of some of Dremi's famed moonshine and most of my sanity. It seemed that Eury was searching for something that the scorned might know something about. We provided it with some food, water, and a weapon before sending it on its way. I'm not really sure what Eury hoped to accomplish, but I hope it was worth it. After a short rest, we will begin our journey into the Kuthrik's lair.