Day 2, Laird's Triple-Locked Journal

From the private, triple-locked journal of Laird Sonoly:

Oh Corellon, if *I* am one of the chosen ones, if *I*, out of all the humans and elves and half-elves and eladrin and dwarves and halflings and dragonborn in the whole world (??) was chosen to be some sort of great hero...well, I'm just really scared for the world, that's all. I am just pathetic. I feel like such a failure already. Maybe I shouldn't've been healed from the filth fever, maybe it's appropriate that that rat bit me. I dunno.

But, I *was* healed, and I guess I'm glad, I definitely do feel better...if I'd thought there was any romance to suffering from a wasting illness, far from home, I now know the truth. It's not romantic at all, it's just awful.

Anyway. So we went to the goblin's cave to retrieve the magicum core for the crazy inventor guy, the one who's gonna get us to Skaversmoor D'Moor Island (err, I hope). I finally got to one-up that know-it-all Ashleigh, because I *do* know a little goblin and no one else did. But of course she twisted it all around, I told her I knew it from my ex-bf (because he was a fence and he dealt w/ a lot of goblins), and she started joking that either he WAS a goblin, or that he and I read each other goblin love poems or some nonsense. Anyway. She can think what she wants I guess. I still messed things up right off the bat, though. I tried to trick the goblins into coming out to play cards with us, but I couldn't think of a fake name fast enough (I can think of like twenty right now, of course, but at that moment my mind went blank) and they saw through me and attacked us. And of course the head one wasn't even a goblin, it was a HOBgoblin, which, I mean I acted all, "Oh, they're pretty much the same thing," but, ah-NOOO, I know from Kenneth that they are smarter and tougher and I was like, crap.

Since I clearly totally suck at fighting (I couldn't even defend myself against a RAT), I figured I'd let the others do what they do best, and help *them* out by doing what *I* do best...or, what I thought I did best. I slipped through the battle and inside the cave to find the magicum core. Maybe I could redeem myself by retrieving it while they others distracted the goblins!? But, not so simple, turns out the "cave" was a whole complex. Not huge, mind you, but big enough that it wasn't just in and out. But thank Corellon no one was around, because I couldn't even pick a stupid lock to get through the first door, UGH, so ridiculous. And when I finally did, I was so pleased with myself, I walked right into a trap. A BABY could have seen that trap, I can't believe how much I spaced. I was just so upset about how badly I'd messed up already, but then I just made it worse by messing up more because I was distracted thinking about the first mess-ups.

Eventually, the others caught up with me and bailed me out. Ashleigh of course was able to get some laughs at my expense. I was like the punchline of a joke, sitting there at the bottom of a stupid 10 foot pit. Things got a little better after that, we encountered more goblins, and this time I stayed and fought, and actually did some damage! I think I even felled one, with a shot from my crossbow! Saddush did most of the heavy lifting, though, he is just inSANE. I mean, not insane, he is just really really good. And modest too, unlike Ashleigh! Ileander did a lot of fey warlock stuff, he just whispered words to a bunch of the goblins, and they cringed and fell and shrieked. I wonder what he said?? I kind of envied those goblins a little bit, I don't think I'd mind if Ileander were to whisper in my ear, it looked kinda sexy in a dark way. But then he got caught in an avalanche when one of the stone walls crumbled on top of him. I wanted to do something, but what could I do?? Nothing. I just froze and stared helplessly. Thank Corellon he ended up being ok, but I know he's mad at all of us, even if he keeps it to himself.

Anyway, eventually we got the goblin leader to surrender, and he gave us the magicum core just like that. It didn't look like I thought it would, it's just, like, a cylindar of regular stone. I think I thought it would look like a sparkly brain? Not sure. We got it back to the guy, who was SO out of it, he didn't even get it when we told him that the goblins had been *hired* by some wizard he apparently knows! And he almost forgot all about the bathysphere and us, too, but we reminded him. Hopefully we'll be going in the morning! I say hopefully, but really I should say "dreadfully." I'm sure I'm going to mess up a bunch more stuff tomorrow. I just pray to Corellon that I can have my wits about me and not be a total doof again!