April 13th
rudo and i found the group, though one member was missing (reportedly abandoned the party for other opportunities). there is a druid, whom i suspect to have elven heritage, named loslagost. there is a middle-aged human male that seems to be well acquainted with both forestry and psionics, called liam. the third is a young human female named dahlia, who seems almost brutally tough, yet is an arcane magic user. her youth causes her more impetuous decision-making, perhaps, but she seems mature from her travels and experiences.

when we finally found the group, it seemed that a demon had found them. actually, two, but we had followed one to where they were. the demons descended through the forest canopy and attacked us. i was able to damage one heavily, and the other only a minor amount. poor rudo was simply unprepared for the fight, and mostly did nothing or distracted the demons' attentions. the group we found proved quite capable though, and in the end we succeeded in killing both infernal beasts.

one reason the battle was a little tougher than we'd expected was that rudo and i had camped in a tree, and ended up trapped and kept up all night by a large feline. it never attacked, but the lack of sleep clouded my own judgment, and i was more drained mentally. oh well, we passed that obstacle.

after fighting the demons, we determined that finding out about the strange marks that the group had would be the best start. I had once had a mark myself, though it has been suppressed. our hope is to find information and a way to permanently remove the marks, or at the very least to suppress liam's, dahlia's, and loslagost's marks. we headed towards a small farming community that had no real name, but a few permanent structures that we could utilize as available and necessary. we met up with our contact and discovered that there was a cleric in town working to indoctrinate the locals. this cleric had little useful skill though, and was known to use foolish abuses of his power to show that he had power, such as summoning zombies just to wander the streets.

the group and rudo and i determined to join together and search for a way to remove the marks and to fight the oppression of baalzebub's clergy. we would stay the night, and leave in the morning to begin such a journey.

the strangest thing happened that night, which i will never forget, as it was like a turning point in my life. i feel like my purposes are more achievable, which makes me feel more invigorated towards doing them. perhaps it was laziness and apathy creeping under a facade of purpose, but i was becoming sedentary and lethargic. anyway, the event. it was a simple thing really, and may not have touched anyone else.

rudo woke me up deep in the night. he then leaped out of a hole in the ceiling (we were in a hidden basement), where i followed. the other psion was there, as well as the girl. the druid had taken a leave of absence to commune with his divinity and brothers of his order, and was not around. i'm sure this didn't escape his notice though. there was a loud sound outside the cabin, and the occasional muffled voice speaking loudly. i looked through the window and saw an army belonging to a baron from the west, and they were marching as if returning from elsewhere. the men of the force seemed tired and weary, as would be expected.

dahlia ran outside the building and towards the front of the force. i gave pursuit to be able to help if needs be, but she stopped before reaching the carriage in the lead. she looked almost distraught, and then went to speak with a soldier. i had stopped some distance back and with the army's own sound could not hear what was said between the two. she then turned back to the house and went that way, with nary a glance for me. i checked the soldier she spoke with, but he was simply marching on. i returned the house after her.

she and liam were talking. apparently the carriage held some sort of force over her, creating an urge that seemed to be covetous, destructive, and repulsive all at once, and yet she was compelled stronger as she approached the carriage to stop and turn away. it seemed strange, and after a moment's discussion, she and liam decided it could wait.

it was that army's marching though, unabated through a town in the middle of the night, that made me remember that you must actually do what needs to be done to get anything done. whatever force this baron faced, he faced it directly. well, directly by sending other men to die in his name, but he did not wait and let the enemy make the next move. this is what i needed to do to fight this oppression. i had to be more active, and go to the frontline. otherwise, i was waiting for the clergy to grow and come after me in earnest, in spite of the mark they'd already given me. i can't simply wait for a demon to track me down, and if i must, i must take as many of the enemy before my own time came, as i was otherwise letting them grow stronger while i simply stand by and rot.

the next day we left town. we stopped in the forest a way out, and talked about the general plan of action. we decided that we could perform an operation locally that would both attack the oppressive force in town, and would also help us to learn more about the marks. we would kidnap the leading cleric in town, who had been described to us as a pompous moron more than a force to be reckoned with. rudo was sent for reconnaissance, and liam, dahlia, and i waited in the woods. rudo returned with word that a ritual was to be undertaken this evening at the cleric's residence, meaning he would be at home but not alone. the ritual was to be a vulgar orgy of sin, which seemed to me to serve no meaningful purpose other than copulation. perhaps it is this demon's bidding, baalzebub, that they do such a thing. that would seem inline with the attitude of such a beast. at any rate, if we were to do the task this night, it would be difficult but most likely possible.

we re-entered town in the night, towards mid-night. we saw the building the ritual was occurring within, and saw that only two men were at watch, and one was watching inward through a window rather than out. liam shot the man, though his hits did not fell the resilient guard as quick as we'd anticipated. rudo charged the man with his characteristic lightning speed, though his impact was imperfect as the man tried to dodge. seeing that he hadn't quit fallen, i used my power of mindthrust to finally put him down. rudo drug him off into an alley and hid the body. we then went to the other guard’s post. liam crossed a street to get a good shot at the guard. rudo had prepared for another charge from a distance to maximize his impact and remain hidden before charging. the guard apparently saw liam, and watched the corner of the building. as liam peeked around the corner, the guard was looking directly at him, and so liam had to move elsewhere. dahlia and i were waiting in reserve again. all of the sudden three arrows came from the far end of the building, where the guard wasn't looking. one hit the building and disipated, another hit the guard in the shoulder, and the final one hit im directly in the forehead, slaying him instantly. rudo had started running, but stopped halfway there when he saw this result.  it seemed definite that after the first guard, liam was not chancing anything, and wasted no effort in killing the man quicker this time. it was mildly disconcerting that the arrows dissipated, leaving nothing but holes in the man's shoulder and head, but knowing they were created in a fashion i can personally appreciate, i did not make any comment. besides, we had tougher work yet to come.

after the guards were taken care of, it was necessary to see what our next step could and would be, as we did not already know the exact situation. we looked in the windows and saw that many participants in the ritual were still awake and...active...including the head cleric. there was little way to abscond with the cleric unnoticed, and killing so many foolish followers was a distasteful option, at best. not to mention the difficulty in doing such a thing. we backed away from the building for a moment to discuss our options and try to come up with a good enough plan.

the druid may have had divine spells that could have helped to hold, distract, and/or disable the majority of the participants while we take the cleric, but no matter what he could have done, he was not with us. dahlia's spells primarily helped her alone, or were only useful in combat when fighting a single foe, or no more than a handful. she could not handle the whole room (about twenty people, give or take) without killing so many folks, which was not a viable option. rudo's skills could perhaps get him in fast, and there was a slim chance he could have grabbed the cleric and taken him out, but it was so unlikely the plan was almost ridiculous. dahlia was almost ready to consider stripping to the nude and wearing only one of the guards' holy symbols to gain entry and access to the cleric, and use her ability and prowess to capture the cleric by force. this wasn't a good option either. even liam, who originally thought the plan to kidnap him was the highest priority, was beginning to rethink tonight as a good time for it. it was then i remembered that i can contribute my own powers.

while my focus is metacreativity, i can do a little of other things with my mental abilities as well. while i cannot control an object and move it gently where i would like, as a kineticist probably could, i can pick up an object, or a person, and fling it with great force. i mentioned this, and we worked out the plan to have rudo and dahlia wait a distance from the door, and liam and i near the entrance. i would signal liam, who would open the door, and then i'd use my telekinetic thrust to hurl the cleric straight out the door from his position within the room. provided his ambient will was not too great for me to grab him, he would simply be pulled by an unknown force, leaving everyone inside in confusion and the cleric in an even more alarmed state. the people inside may not even realize that the event was not preordained, and go about their business without leaving the building. after the cleric flew out the door, liam would close the door via a rope he'd secured to the knob, so that he would not be in the doorway blocking the cleric or in a position to be seen. once the cleric landed outside, dahlia and rudo could pummel the man into unconsciousness, and we'd leave the town. this all went according to plan, almost perfectly. after i initiated my thrust and the cleric launched from the building, liam closed the door without any complication, and the cleric was heard landing in a naked heap in the alley across the street. i had such energy from the attack that i was able to run over to where the cleric had landed and lay partially dazed, all before either of the other two there could do anything. i hit him once, perhaps nothing of much consequence to his health. rudo was on the attack by then, and used his expert martial talents and in two quick hits nearly killed the man, but left him deeply unconscious instead. we then discussed our escape plan, decided that dahlia could grab the man and fly to a predetermined point in the woods while rudo, liam, and i left on foot. this worked, and the only witness to our departure was a drunk that will probably forget he even saw us.

the plan worked perfectly, and i feel that we worked great as a team to accomplish a difficult task. it would have been much different without all of our abilities able to work so well together. it gives me hope that we will be able to accomplish much in the future, from such subterfuge as kidnapping (though this was hardly subtle, just unnoticed) to more directly difficult tasks such as tackling demons in melee combat. teamwork will help us all, and i'm almost positive that the rest of the team will realize this. once the druid is able to rejoin us, we will have even more varied power, and be able to accomplish greater tasks. i am excited by the situation. 

ah, yes. the situation. we do have a kidnapped cleric to interrogate still. how best to do this?.....hmmm....

April 18th

Ahh, yes, the cleric problem. Liam wanted to "interrogate" him, in order to gain knowledge on the marks and perhaps some of the general religious structure they operate under. Somehow though, I don't think the cleric will just spit this out. Will this result in torturing the man? Here, I am at an impasse..

The cleric is evil, and certainly deserves no leniency in his treatment. However, we have him in a state of nigh helplessness, meaning we are in complete control already. If we beat him, torture him in another way, or whatever, then are we better than the regime he supports? I am fighting to lift oppression, including torturous coercion of common folks to join their cult, and here I am in a situation where I might use their tactics. perhaps I can merely abstain from participation...but then I'm guilty by association. I do not think I thought this through enough before committing to the plan, well as it went. The endgame, where I find myself, may be too much. This will take some thought and meditation, much of both before any action.

How can I justify what may come? Will it even be an issue, or will the cleric awaken terrified and give information freely? We aren't trying to convert him, nor do we plan to murder him, but his torment will be great from shame alone when we return him, and greater still if he is permanently damaged physically. His emotional torment will last forever, already.

This is not my realm of action. I feel like I am a stranger watching myself. Do I know myself still? Has my disciplined lifestyle left me bereft of other experiences I needed before this event began? What can I do now that I have gotten myself here? Will Ptah be forgiving in what I've done with the power he has allowed me to use? I am not his cleric, though I am a steward of his force and gifted to some extent with his creativity. Any action taken should not break my Sacred Vows, which only require great discipline of myself to help protect me and to control my negative desires. But what of my moral outlook in general? Could I become less good and more evil, blurring the comfortable neutrality I have so long embraced? I only want to do the right thing. Is the action that might be necessary going to help further a better cause? Do two wrongs make a right, as the saying goes? I feel that the end will justify the means here, but I do not like this. This personal guilt could possibly harm my actions until I can find a way to repent, though again it is not a repentance unto Ptah that I would owe, but unto myself. Is that possible? Is my own discipline such a force in my life that I can owe repentance to myself for violating my principles? Is that overly egotistical?

For one of the few times in my life, I can honestly admit to myself that I am confused. Liam might be surprised to hear that, but I dare not voice my own problem to the group yet. Though, my concern may be met with more accord and perhaps a discussion can help us all work around this. It cannot be that the whole group is so cold as to perform the cleric's own wicked acts. Or could I be wrong?

April 20th
We handled the cleric's interrogation with less finesse than I'd have preferred, but we managed to get the information we sought (more or less) and return him alive if a little battered and perhaps emotionally traumatized. The marks are family crests of demonic forces, though from what I gather it is more likely devils than demons, per se. at any rate, the marks are not of a language such as infernal or any other evil writing, but mere symbols. The marks possessed by the new companions are from a merging of these infernal families, and the cleric knew nothing of their origin as he knew only of the one family (the origination of my suppressed mark). The cleric was not able to provide all of the information we wanted, and stated that in his estimation the only way to remove the marks was to succumb to the infernal assassins that plague the marked.

We elected to return him to the town, trussed and tied and hung from a banner pole. Dahlia handled that return task, after we knocked the cleric unconscious once more. He would live, a little worse for wear, and should end up humiliated before his infernal lord and his parishioners.

We traveled a bit before resting, and after sunrise at some point Rudo heard the baying of tracking dogs. He awoke us all, and after explaining to the newcomers what dogs were (it seems amazing to me how different the future is every time we come upon a difference to be explained) we set off. Loslagost was to take a scented rag and confuse the dogs, while the rest of us would do our best to leave little trace by traveling in rivers and with minimal contact to our environs. We traveled only a short while before we were set upon by woodsmen with tracking dogs which were not fooled by Loslagost's trick.

The men, who were apparently only hired locals, set upon us from afar using crossbows. It seemed we had little recourse than to return fire and destroy our enemies, and thus battle commenced. I created a construct to aid in melee, and then prepared myself with an energy retort ability in the case that I was fired upon. Fortunately, that never happened, and the battle ended quickly. The men attacking us were not very tough, and Loslagost had summoned bears to aid his contribution and they handled the fight easily.

Nothing of value was learned from the bodies, though the tracking dogs seemed to take a liking to Loslagost and Liam. Perhaps they will be able to serve us as protectors and be able to warn us at night allowing for more opportunity to rest. Perhaps many things, but the future is always uncertain. Unless you've been there.

During the cleric's interrogation, which initially took place in a shelter Liam created, an unheard voice was talking to the cleric. It seemed to be giving him information, and was perhaps an ally. We finished the process outside of this shelter, and later I asked Liam about this disembodied voice. He said that during a large battle involving many magicks and dragons and a grand source of evil, the spirit of an evil mage was entrapped in his shelter, which his party was hiding in. The spirit is always there when the shelter is created, though in theory it should not. I recommended having a positive energy cleric exorcise the spirit if it can provide no use, and Liam seemed frustrated about the situation in general and I did not delve further. I will not enter his shelter though unless circumstances are dire, for I want no baneful spirits menacing me or even just observing me. That seems foul, on many levels. I am sure the situation will be resolved eventually, in one way or another.