There is a chance that this will be the last entry I make. We are currently trapped in a cave with the threat of cyclops to eat us. This is connected to our fight with the wargs that we had at the end of the last entry.
Shortly after the last entry, Virgil and I noticed a storm coming in. There was lightning n the sky and a heavy rain. Very unusual for the desert. Given that we were in a low-lying area, we thought that it might be a danger of flash flooding. Virgil and I awoke the rest of our party, and began to evacuate camp.
We headed south, as there were some foothills there. The heavy rain though caused the sand to become muddy and the horses lost their footing. Ellis slipped off of his horse and I had to save him. The tables were turned shortly and I fell from my horse. In the mud, I found myself stuck. At first just a boot, but later I sunk into it fully. It took the rest of my companions their full effort to get me out. I have lost both my boots as well as my pants.
Ellis asked if I had extra pants, though I believe it was Slim that pointed out that I do not. My clothes are worn, unlike his. I am unsure of how I will acquire another pair. Perhaps if we get out of this mess, I will be able to bring that town back into this realm and be rewarded with pants. Imagine the look on the townspeople when they are brought back to the realm of the living to find their savior pantsless.
Oh journal, I should not laugh at a time like this. After I got out of the mud, we climbed a hill and found a cave. It appeared safe and so we camped there. The rest of the watch passed peacefully, or so I thought. When day should have begun, the cave stayed dark. There had been a cave-in or a boulder had been shoved in. How I did not hear this, I do not know. Cyclops don't have magic, none that I know of anyway. Ours does not appear to be particularly stealthy. Whatever the reason, we found ourselves trapped in the cave.
The cyclops the wargs had discussed lives here. Its name (do cyclops have genders? Unclear) is Parthas. Parthas was fairly intelligent. He could sense that we are not a harmonious group and our attempts to bluff our way out of the situation were rebuffed. Not that the truth sated him any more. I told him about the town and the magic and he scoffed at us for getting involved in these sorts of things.
The cyclops is from the south and may have even been from around Picham. His names for the cities there do not match my own, but upon me mentioning Picham he seemed to know it. Apparently there is a tower that disappears at times there. If we make it out of this, I hope that it will come in handy.
Our parlay went on too long and Slim and Ellis both took shots at the cyclops. Virgil hid during this, to gain an advantage. But, Slim and Ellis could not hit the cyclops because the storm had made their guns dirty. Neither had cleaned their weapons. I believe mine is lost to the mud.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if that storm was the work of a shaman. I believe we will need one to bring the town back...or perhaps I can muster the spell by myself. Still, if it was a shaman, hopefully, we can escape and find him.
I tried a bluff of my own, sensing some apprehension on his part about the magic in the south. I said that I was a powerful sorcerer that knew of the magic there and would use it to reign hellfire. I felt convinving to me, and I think even my companions were a bit taken back by it. I can't do that, of course, not yet. I know a few attack spells, but nothing that major. Still, it did not work. I think Ellis was less shocked when I claimed to be a powerful sorcerer than when I had told the cyclops that I was committed to ending the practice of slavery in my lands. That much was true, and I was hoping the cyclops had an altruistic bent to him. Not the case. Wonder why Ellis looked so concerned about me wanting to free people.
The cyclops laughed at our attempts to kill him, or even to harm him. He seems overly confident, and left us to our own devices for awhile. We have tried to hatch a plan. I am unsure if there is any way out of this cave other than the entrance that is blocked off. So, I don't know that we should kill him. I offered to blind the cyclops with magic. Val has sai we could hide amongst the sheep the cyclops has while he's blinded and run out. My spell though only lasts a minute, so I'm not sure it would work. Ellis wants to kill it I think. He is intrigued by the gold that is down in the cave. The cyclops doesn't care for it, it seems. I wonder...
The cyclops seems unworried about us. I wonder if we might discourse with him more, try to stretch this out while others in the party search for a way out of here. Maybe we use the cyclop's hubris against him.
Of course, the cyclops said the wargs were here as well. Would they recognize us? Things to discuss with the others. Until then...
Edward.
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