In Leilon I made a somewhat crude but functional shrine before we left. I would have preferred to have spent more time on it, as I did with the one in Axeholm, but time was short, and I can always hone the construction if and when we return. Rhogar said he would have people come and make the building more sound while we were away, and that is more than I had hoped to find in the aftermath of the minor disagreement we'd had.
It settled something in me to have the shrine there, and not only because I needed it to anchor a spell of recall that I could use in an emergency. For all that I am not typical as a cleric, the power granted to me, even though it was from the shard of god power, it still hailed from the Three, and having the shrine there brought me a sense of stability that had been lacking before. Not a great amount, but more than in the past, especially with Ularan's power blocking the Three from manifesting or talking with me as they had before. At least if need be I can go to them and speak in that way now, and that is a reassurance that I hold onto, especially after the narrow escape in the Mere.
While trying to escort the lizardfolk refugees to the south to the rest of their people, we fell foul of an obscene number of trolls, ones that numbered in the hundreds. The hoard was being controlled by troll shamans with acorn focuses, and so I cannot help but think that they are in some way supplemented by the power of the Bramble Queen. But such a sheer mass of trolls, I do not know how they survive. There was certainly not enough food in the entire Mere for such a number, or the sword coast as a whole.
We barely escaped becoming food ourselves, and only quick thinking by the group in luring them into what was reputed to be dangerous ruins, saved us. Whatever was in there killed and terrified so many of the trolls that came after us, that the hoard became a chaotic mess that shamans couldn't control, and they fled, letting us safely continue on to the south.
We came across a huge green dragon outside the lizardfolk city, one that did not attack us, but instead seemed interested in Idris and the white dragon egg he carries. In truth I had forgotten he carried it, what with so many other things going on. In many ways I hope that it does not survive, for it will surely make our tasks more difficult, white dragons not exactly being the friendly sort. Idris himself is becoming more problematic to travel with too, wisdom entirely escaping him. It is difficult to judge when he will do something problematic, and while I do try and look out for him, there is a part of me that resents having to babysit a paladin who people look at and assume is leading our group. Adding a white dragon into the mix, not to mention all the other bonds Idris has accumulated, it makes me profoundly uneasy.
The green dragon invited Idris to come and visit her lair and the paladin agreed readily, to the surprise of no one. I can only hope that we will be so busy with other more important things that he will not find the time to honour that agreement until after the Three are once more in power, because the idiocy of trying to come to an agreement with a green dragon, especially one so old, and come out of it intact, it is slim to none.
I wonder, sometimes, what his God, and indeed the deva that he has contact with, were thinking when he asked to change his oaths. It was clear, even back then, that he wanted to come to an agreement with the devil in his sword, and that sort of deal was likely to only be added to as time passed, as we have seen. I know he has an agreement with a demon too now. How could they think that it was a good plan? Even I, who have not the intellect and foreknowledge that a God has, could tell it was a perilous path and unlikely to see him whole by the end of it. Considering that Idris' worship and soul is in jeopardy, how do they benefit from allowing him to do that? If anything, in allowing him that alteration in his oath, it seems likely they must have known they would lose him. I just don't know why it was agreed upon. Did they think they would immediately lose his worship if he was not allowed? It is the only thing that I could see making sense, and yet I have seen the deva's effect on others, and it seems to me that she could have convinced him it wasn't a good idea. Even I have managed to convince Idris of things and he listens. It truly makes little sense to me.
But that aside, we are in the lizardfolk city now, one that resides in the ancient elven buildings underneath the swamp. We are in no particular danger currently, which is novel.
The place is interesting, for the waterlogged nature of the mere does not penetrate those walls, no matter how far down it is. Indeed, there is even a magical river of some sort that runs through it, one the lizardfolk revere. They told me, when I asked, that the river keeps the waters of the Mere away, that it did not allow other water near. They have some strange ways of viewing the world though, and I do not know if that is the truth of it, or if there are other magics at work that were built into the structure to safeguard it.
-==I==-
I was given another name today. Claegssthisis. In general terms it means 'the one who embodies death' in the language of the lizardfolk.
The ruler, or at least the religious leader of the lizardfolk was a seer of some power, and granted us the answer to a question as a reward for our aid in getting the other group of lizardfolk to their city safely, or as safely as we could. I asked him what future would have them aid me willingly, but only got a general sense that until their own Gods were restored, it was likely we would only clash fatally. He gave me the name so his people would know me, whether good or bad is yet to be seen.
It felt good to be named as such, not in terms of the threat I posed, but in the fact that it is who I am now, for the Three. Their will and demands drive my actions, and their power is now a part of myself. Especially when meeting the likes of Ularan and those of the Dead Hand whose power and experience far eclipse my own, it felt good to be recognised. Acknowledged.
I can only hope the circumstances with the lizardfolk remain congenital. They let us into their city. They let us see their river and their seer in recompense for helping them, but the knowledge of that sits with me like a threat, and the seer saw that clearly enough. I can only hope they find it in them to work with me, while that knowledge remains mine alone, as it will not remain so indefinitely. Soon we will turn our steps towards the mountains to the east where Ularan's tower sits, and the knowledge of the river is too important to withhold, not when Ularan is the means of resurrecting the Three. The Three as well, if I manage to contact them soon, will surely wish to utilise the river somehow.
And so I did what I could to try and gain the lizardfolk's willing support while the choice is still with me. I do not wish to become their destruction. After a certain point though, that choice will no longer be in my hands.
I look at them, and it is with a feeling of melancholy that I watch them. I regret that they showed their river to us. They are so vibrant, so hopeful and driven for their future, and their words do not give me much hope for a pleasant outcome. My path was always to help the dead pass on, not bring about the demise of entire civilisations, and yet the knowledge and understanding that my presence may very well be their end, it sits heavily upon me. It is not what I would wish for.