3. Thoughts of a squishy scout - Thorns journal.

Thoughts of a squishy scout - Thorns journal.


  • Things I've learned over the past few days.

    Puppets are annoying. I've someone, a puppet master, sending puppet versions of me, Albry.. children. They're tough.. magical, and the worst part is they never shut up. Mine tried to act like me, fool everyone it was me. It slipped. Ever since then the puppet master has sent stronger more dangerous puppets after me. Its as if the creator of these puppets just wants to make me angry.. threatening Crux. I know she can handle herself if a puppet found her, but that just pissed me off.

    In total.. six puppets sent, six puppets destroyed.

    Another thing I've learned, the copies of people, they really are very much like the original. Its going to be difficult to tell the original apart from the copy. But theres something there, some small thing.. something I'll find. I need to figure it out soon. Troff can't take much more of this.

    Things seem to be falling apart without Jerrick here. He needs to hurry up and get back. I'm not sure how long Ducky will stay out of trouble without him here to keep him out of it.

    Eli has left me with multiple messes to clean up.. I haven't been able to bring myself to tell Caelian shes gone.. really should just get that over with.

    Myrrha has a softer heart than I ever thought she did. Glad for that, hope she never changes.

    Clay needs lessons on climbing trees.

    Albry -loves- the blue Lingerie.

    I'll write more, but I'm tired.


  • I just had to do one of the most difficult things in my life..

    These past few days I've heard close friends say nothing but bad things on Elis behavior.. she was getting out of controll with the pixie dust. I had to do something.. It wasn't easy.

    Albry and I confronted her about it in the barracks office behind a locked door. We tried talking to her on it, but she wouldn't listen, everything we said went in one elfy ear and our the other. She didn't seem to care of our concerns, or what she was doing to her friends.. or her family. Even going so far as to try and lie to the two of us, just to get out. She was convincing enough to fool Albry.. But I changed into a pixie just to prove my point. She has a problem. And it shows.. she snapped, trying to get dust off me, Albry tackled her, she struggled.. got slammed against the floor and held by Albry. We tied her up.. and did what we had to. Drag her, kicking and screaming to a cell..

    Shes locked up now.. no visitors. At first, she was kicking, and screaming.. Abry turned to leave the cell, motioning me to follow. Eli met me face to face at the bars, her eyes red, tears running down her face.. it.. I couldn't.. I had to get away from the cell.

    For about an hour, she screamed.. and for about an hour I stood in the locker room, re-aranging my locker. Trying to keep my mind off things.. anything so I wouldn't rush in there to my little sisters aid. I have to keep reminding myself.. this is for her own good. At least shes settled down now.. She just sort of sits there in the corner of the cell, curled up in the corner.. she looked up at me once, and I know shes in pain. It has to be difficult.. having to drop something like that so fast, so sudden.

    To make matters worse.. I was the one to have to tell Caelian about what was going on.. he was pissed, but he understood. I couldn't go with him and tell the kids why their mother wouldn't be around for a while.. why she wouldn't be there to tuck them in at night. I'm sorry Caelian..

    The one thing keeping me from breaking down at this point is Crux.. shes hardly left my side since all of this began.


  • I really should write in this thing on a daily basis.. alot has happened, alot thats not good. A little that is.

    Harvey.. the polite vampire, the one I thought was okay. I don't like him.. not anymore. He showed up one night and made one of us chose the one he would feed from. We took to long and the sun rose.. pissed off he ran off to the crypts, saying someone would die tonight.. also leaving a note, inviting anyone to come and visit him.

    Noah and I did, alone.. which would have been fine, but we were followed. We took a blind deal that if we let him feed on us, he wouldn't have to revert to his more monsterous ways. Feeding and killing on everyone. He promised he wouldn't turn or kill us. And we were more than willing to.. not like we had a choice in the matter, little blood for the lives of others. Then.. Crux walked in. The way Harvey looked at her made my skin crawl.. and the way he treated her made me want him dead.. or.. dust. He fed from all three of us.. and then he did something else to Crux, that made her act.. weird. He allowed us to leave.. we all went to the healers, we were fine..

    Later I learned that Harvey sent a note by Benji, promising to never bother norwick or its people ever again, thanks to Noah and myself.

    Crux was somewhat.. distant, for a few days after. Shes back to normal though.. she probably has no idea how that one night together eased so many of my worries.

    One problem solved.. and if Harvey keeps his word.. which, with how manners and politeness hang heavily on him, I can only hope he will. Thats two problems solved.


  • Eli has been sniffing pixie dust.. which is bad. Crux told me she knew someone up in peltarch who became addicted to the stuff. I'd say she probably is.. as when I turned into a pixie, she practically shook me down for dust, collecting it. I'll need to keep an eye on her for a while.. but if things go from bad to worse, I'll just get Albry ahold of her. That always works.

    Something strange though.. there was a little girl out the south gates at night, with glowing green eyes. I couldn't sneak by her.. or away from her, or anything. Those eyes of her saw everything.. I don't even think she blinked once. I tried to talk with her, but all she did was smile, or.. giggle. I have to admit, this little girl put me somewhat on edge. I would have talked to her more, but Brendel walked up.. and she vanished.

    Back at the gates, everyone was standing ready, already heard of the strange little girl from Caling and Eli. She didn't show back up again.. the sun was rising. I decided to give her one last window, a chance to say something, anything really. Walking away from the gates down the road, I began to swirl darkness all around myself, keeping it up as long as I could.

    It worked.

    Twelve sets of glowing green eyes was all I could see, they were all around me, watching. It was the strangest feeling.. being surrounded by a creature.. or a thing you know nothing about. I made no action against them, and they made no move against me. Merely watching.. waiting? All of the eyes vanished as my darkness did. Leaving me with so many questions.

    Can't believe its already noon.. I'm up and dressed, but Crux is still in bed. Ah well she'll be up and dressed soon.. I jus-..

    That was.. unsettling. I made the entire room completely dark.. and, the eyes were there.. here, in the room, in the grapevine! The door was locked.. window was closed and somehow.. nevermind. Something is wrong here.. but they're no threat, at least.. not yet. I'll try talking to them tommorow night.


  • Things have calmed. Eli seems to be trying to get closer to Crux.. as, they're speaking, somewhat. Its still going to take time I know, but at least now they both know they've got something in common. Troff was right, these two need help.. why would you need so many clothes? Ah well, its a start.

    Eli has also taken up kamas, I'm amazed at how fast she picked up on them. Shes not accidenntly cut herself or dropped them yet. Her strikes are somewhat slow, and need to be practiced, but with time she'll be fast.. possibly faster than me. I wouldn't mind that really, I'm glad to pass on the lessons Nicahh pounded into me.

    I think alot about Nicahh, like where she is or how shes doing.. I hope shes doing well. Its a sad thing really.. she used to be so well known, everyone knew her, or knew of her. But now.. its as if no one remembers her. Very few even know what The Sisterhood is.. or was.

    Theres an undead over by the destroyed fence … I really should stop visitng this place, its no longer safe. Ah well.. its going to stumble its way over here... eventually .... would be horrible to be that slow.

    While I wait.. I managed to somehow beat Crux in a fight. Which.. kind of makes us tied, as she beat me easily last time. Still not used to armor, or a heavy sheild and sword. Unfortunately this means I've got to fight Troff.
    Not looking forward to-

    Took the smelly thing long enough, ah well its headless ... and now it smells here, time to go home.


  • Three days and three nights.. it felt as if everything that could be out in the rawlins was attacking us. Bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins, shadows, shades, slimes undead bugbears.. It was relentless. Crux and I spotted the scouting group.. of whatever small weird army that was. We ran from the lake to the gates and held our own, untill the group of fourty plus hobgoblins and one bugbear was killed. We thought that was the end of it.

    The next few days went on as non-stop fighting.. it was difficult, as even I had to retreat to the healers once. It was either go willingly, or Crux would have drug me up there.

    Brendel fell in all this.. twice it seems. He's gone again.. left a day after all the fighting was done. We'll see him again, probably in the next one hundred years.

    And.. to make matters worse. Eli hates Crux.. maybe hate it a strong word.. strongly dislikes? Either way its not good. Everytime Crux does so much as lean on me, or give me a hug.. Eli walks off without saying a word. I've talked with her.. and she said she would give her a chance.. but I'm worried. Because Crux knows Eli doesn't like her.. and I'm sure shes feels as if shes responsible.. as she keeps telling me, shes just causing me trouble. Its a mess.. a tangled mess, and one I can't really do anything about but try and help.. and wait..

    At least Noah is having an easier time.. he picked Sessa, glad for him.


  • The days and nights passed by.. we went by boat.. caravan, walking roads and forests.. there were so many strange new things I've not seen before.. but we had no time to see the sights. The whole trip, we only took the time to rest that we needed, and even then, that was short. Even traveling as fast as we could possibly go with such a large group.. it took us nearly twenty days and nights.. just to get to Cormyr.. I've always thought myself a patient person.. but being stuck with such a diverse group as we had.. it quickly gave me a headache … I lost count at how many times Targohr had asked 'are we there yet?' I'm just glad he had Arlan to keep him company. Or else Yngdir might have actually have had to speak up.

    Through it all.. some good outshined the bad of such a long trip. Noah and Caling seem to be getting somewhere around 'close friends' And.. I'm not sure if I should be worried that she'll be getting him into alot of trouble, or.. maybe happy that he'll probably keep her out of it? Ah well, time will tell.

    I'm thankfull for Crux.. she kept me company the entire trip. We've talked alot.. and, I'm ashamed to admit that.. I've completely missjudged her. Who she is.. what she is.. how she is.. I'm an idiot for doing such. But.. with our time together I've learned different. Shes very... nevermind, should get back to the trip.

    The Knight took us straight to the cave.. which, was guarded. By a pit-feind. Really distinct smell on those.. He was a talker.. and thankfully so, because I'm not sure we could have killed that thing. He told us.. actually, he read to us, that he was bound to the entrance, and in order to get in.. he would need one soul. After much more arguing.. Noah walked up to me, told me that there was no other choice. I knew what he was thinking so I asked if he was sure.. and he just nodded, telling me.. to save the kids. He turned.. and walked up to the monster. I watched him with each step towards that thing.. everything about the situation felt wrong.. but it was Noahs choice.. and one he was determined to see through to the end. He offered himself up to the monster.. and no sooner did he finish saying the words, the knight herself, jumped in front of him. Putting herself between Noah and the demon.

    She sacrificed herself, so that we could enter and save those children.. I told Noah to take her sword and sheild.. he had a job to do. We did not let the knights sacrifice go to waste.. we entered that cave.. cutting our way through any banite that stood in our way. Soldiers.. crossbowmen, priests.. undead, lesser demons, we never slowed, forcing our way into the deepest part of the caves. There.. we found them. The children.. they were scared.. hungry, dirty.. crying. The gates were opened, and the children rushed towards us, all happy to be alive.. to be rescued. Some held our hands as we lead them out of the cave.. some, we carried out, others followed along with us, as we made our way to the surface.

    We were met by a group of more knights. They thanked us for rescuing the children for all that we did. The children rushed towards them, and off they went, leaving us in Cormyr and.. completely on our own to get back home.

    The trip back took longer than the trip there.. Crux made things easier. I'm so glad she was there.. I sometimes forget that not everyone is as nice as they are here in norwick.. and asking a dwarven merchant simple directions can quickly become heated.. we eventually found a port, and took a ship back to peltarch. In the city.. everyone went their own sepperate ways, back to their own homes and families for much needed rest. Feels good to be back in the barracks, back in my bunk.. Crux is resting while I write this.. she seems so peacefull-... she just stole my pillow.

    Yeah I'm not getting that back tonight.


  • Cormyr.. thats a place I'd rather not visit again. At least.. not with a group so large and diverse as what we had. Should probably start from the beggining, might make more sense.

    Standing outside the gates.. when we actually had gates. Two fully armored people rushed up, both bleeding from fresh wounds. One, a Banite, and one, a Purple Dragon Knight. They were both from Cormyr, and she.. the knight, had been chasing down this banite, finally catching up to him here at our south gates … now that I think about it, thats a long way to run. Talk about devotion on both sides.. anyway, she was pissed, and ready to srtike him down where he stood.

    As it turns out, the Banite had knowledge of where multiple children had been kidnapped and taken. And instead of wanting to save these children, she wanted to kill him.. which would have also been the death of the kids. Even a knight can be blinded.. We kept the two apart, everyone gathering around, holding her away from him. Bound and tied, we tried to get the information out of the banite. However.. all he would tell us was, we would get the information we wanted if we brought him to his friends in oscura.

    After many annoying arguments that never got us anywhere, Noah, Caling, Crux, myself.. and oddly enough, even Sogar, decided to actually -do- something. We took him north, to the oscuran docks.. we were outnumbered three to one, even with the help of Sogars guardsmen.. it would have been difficult if a fight broke out. Luckily one didn't.. and we got our information, for exchange, we had to hand over the banite.. it was our only option, and Sogar made sure they kept to their end of the deal. Instead of anything resembling words.. we were givin a map, and one of them laughed telling us 'good luck'. Looking over the map.. you could easily tell it was Cormyr.

    We split ways there. Noah and Caling went south to prepare, while Crux and I went north, and took a boat south shortly after arriving in peltarch. We stocked up on supplies the moment we reached norwick, then made our way to the south gate, where the Knight was still standing, waiting... Turns out.. we somehow beat Noah and Caling there.

    The knight told us, that this map leads to a cave that she knows of in Cormyr, and asked for our help. Many of us.. if not all of us went with her, some.. without even knowing how far this trip was going to take us.


  • Things as they are right now, are balanced. Everything is balanced.. or.. somewhat anyway. Its almost as if everything is on a needle, and at this very moment, completely still. But right now, even knowing things could eventually tip over and fall off the needle.. I'm oddly, relaxed.

    Probably from the trip to the baths with Eli. They're always nice, but I hardly have time to visit the city for a simple soak. It wasn't the worst visit to that place I've had.. luckily, none of the workers remembered me. Though, Eli and I did.. somehow, turn invisable, and get covered in barky skin. Still, stranger things have happened. The two of us sat by the waters edge, talking for hours, about past relationships among other things… hard to believe how much she went through after I left. Some of the things.. I probably could have prevented from ever happening. But.. you've got to live through lifes mistakes to learn and grow. I did learn something that I really should think on. Eli never liked any woman that took interest in me. The list isn't that long.. and I can see why with them. But, she got along with Crux just fine untill.. yeah.

    Mia has told me she is just protective, but part of me wonders if I'll ever find someone that my 'little' sister actually approves of.

    Magic has gotten easier, I cast my first spell the other day. Though, it wasn't much under my controll. I was suposed to grow one little plant, not hundreds of clingy grabbing vines. Accidently wrapped up Tindra... I got her out though! And she dispelled it right away ... only, more vines popped up and caught her again, am I really this out of controll? I really should practice more..


  • Why do things always have to be so difficult? Calia is not herself.. I've come to realize that she may never be the same as I remember her to be.. I talk to her, I get a small smile here, a light laugh there.. theres something in her eyes, a small light, a reflection of what she once was.. who she once was. I know, with time I could probably do something to help her, some way..

    Only.. that was before today. He's back.. Ridian.. I knew that blade of Yngdirs looked familiar. I just never expected him to show his face around here.. around her, not after what he did. I wanted to hurt him.. I wanted to just drive him out of norwick, back to wherever it was he came from. But I didn't, I should have.. I wanted to, but he asked that we talk, so we talked. He told me everything… every little thing that happened, even before I ever met him and Calia. And he was right in calling himself a fool.

    He wants to make everything right, he wants to fix things. But some things just can't be fixed.. some things have to be built anew, from the ground up. And sometimes, no matter how much you want it, you can't help.. I fear that if Calia sees him, I'll lose what little bit of her I have left.

    I don't want to accept this.. but its possible that the Ridian and Calia I knew, died a long time ago, and all I have left of them is an empty shell of what they once were. I can't give up hope just yet..

    But, with the bad there is always some good. No sooner did I return from my 'talk' with Ridian. I noticed a face I've not seen in a long time. My brother, he's back.. and like always, has nothing on him but the shirt on his back. I asked him where he had been all this time 'went for a long walk' I wanted to hit him. But he's back now, and thats all the matters. I'll see what I can do to help him get back on his feet... I do need another scout.


  • Things don't make sense.. a murder, multiple murders. Can't be sure that Jaelle did do it … she did kill Alestra, but wasn't that because she went around saying she was Brendels lover? Jealousy and anger must lead to stupidity? Its an icky situation.. is the only way to put it. She -could- murder, but why? There has to be a reason, shes not some mindless killer.

    Celad and Syclya, I fear they're going to do something reckless and cause this situation to spiral even more out of controll than it is. He says he won't.. but I've seen how he acts, each little bit of information makes him angry, it makes him.. blind. If he lets his emotions controll him in this, he'll do more harm than good. Syclya will either do one or two things. Make it worse by backing Celad in whatever decision he makes, or talk some sense into him if he does anything rash, lets hope for the latter.

    We'll see how things go.

    Avoided another icky situation the day prior. I was talking with Albry, about Caling being a scout, when Celad interupted, yelling 'Bandits'. We all ran north, past the crossroads, and close to the legion tower. From what I heard, one of the Hoar followers was shooting at them, and a fight started. By time I got there, Maya was pissed. She had a treaty with them, and they just dishonored it. They paid the price for it.. hopefully nothing else will come of it. We don't need another war.

    Finally got Noah to talk to Alana, seems to be working out, so theres a little good news.

    Feather also came out of the woods and visited us in norwick. I was happy to see her, its been a while. We were talking, about Jerrick.. shes upset. Before I could respond with anything, a harpy flew down behind me. Always suprises me how ugly those things are ... they could at least put on a shirt. Anyway, this one appearently liked me. 'boy toy' is what she called me.

    I wasn't too worried, I've dealt with Harpies before ... in the same manner, you know I'm starting to see a pattern here. It cast a spell or something, and I sort of snapped, unable to controll myself, I just.. well, Pulled an Uljas. Punching, elbowing, kicking, grabbing its wings, twisting them, forcing it to the ground ... damn I was mean. By time I snapped out of it I already had my kamas out, and it.. was flying away, blood falling down like rain. I took out my bow, stood on the cliffside, and took a shot that would make Benji and Yndgirs jaws drop.

    It came crashing down, and landed.. not so gracefully. I would call it a flop. Feather and I ran up to it, she checked to make sure it was dead ... I made sure it was dead by putting an arrow in its head. For a naked harpy, it had odd clothing.. this, dancing suit, old, worn. I threw it away. The other suit was ... small. Very small, and blue.. having no idea what to do with it, Feather suggested, to give it to Tindra. I passed it to Feather.. would just be odd walking up to Tindra and going 'Here you go' handing over something so.. small. The last suit was, hardly a suit at all? It had leather straps all over it, and where there wasn't straps.. there was silk? And.. metal loops? Hooks? I don't even think I know anyone that would wear this out in publi-... okay yes I do. But no. Sold it for fifty coins, though.. no idea why the old dwarf would want it.

    Two very interesting days and nights to be sure.


  • Three, three wins in a row. Archery wasn't easy this fight night, Yngdir made sure of that. I'm greatfull though, I don't like winning when it comes easily. I do however like having so many cheer me on from the sidelines, I used to think it would be embaressing, but.. its a rush. Having all those people waiting, watching, cheering and hoping you'll do your best. I had fun.. and even though I won, Benji still showed me up with his crossbow at the end. One day Benji, ten in a row.

    Having won, and with boxing coming up, I decided to borrow a favor from Eli. Shes holding onto some armor for me, and a few books.. and Myrahhs spear… I sometimes wonder where she is now..

    I made it back to the fights just in time for team fighting, following Tindras lead, I signed up. Probably the dumbest thing I've done in a while.. so why did I do it? Ah well.. needless to say I learned an important lesson from it. I'm an archer. Just took Grog and Dwin beating me down with their axes to make that lesson stick. Have to say.. it hurt, alot. Not only did I get knocked out, but I got used -as- the fighting grounds, and Stubs is heavy.

    After the fighting was over, and the winners claimed their prizes, everyone stood around and talked. Luke was selling a necklace that Tindra wanted, something about Selune.. I handed over half of the price, she seemed happy to get it. But then everyone began talking about the gods and godesses.. and all I could do we keep quiet and to myself. Am I the only one who hasn't seen, spoken to.. or even heard one speak? Thats.. sad, isn't it? Since I really.. had nothing much to say on the subject, I decided to check the south gates. By time I made my way back, Luke was passing around something he called 'Riskey'. It was such a strong drink that I could smell it before I even got the chance to see it. Appearently.. I'm the only one that doesn't drink.. so.. I left again, back south.

    Benji caught up with me as he was heading towards the Silver Valley, and we talked. We talked about well.. two main things, drinking, and women. I always enjoy the talks I have with Benji, he's just, fun. I hope things go smoothly for him and Talyna. I think they're a good match.. though he worries about messing things up. Normal to worry like that.. but he'll be just fine.

    Still feeling a little sore from fight night, I walked back into norwick, hoping to maybe catch Tindra, but no one was about. So much for a hotspring huh? Thought it was probably best to try and walk it off, so I took a trip to the caves about oscura.. only to run into something I've never seen before. A kobold, inside the fish caves. The little guy was walking around, taking whatever I didn't take. I didn't mind.. he seemed like just some other adventurer.. only a kobold, so I approached him, asking if he wanted to hunt with me. I must have scared the little guy.. I tend to spook people on accident ... not my fault. But he ran away, grew wings.. and flew off.

    Still sore ugh.. I'll just take it easy for a day or two.


  • Back on my hillside… and glad its all over. Eggbutt is dead, chopped up, burnt, I don't care so long as he's gone. It all started at the south gates, with an odd bunch of troblins. These.. smoked, a little when they died. I was almost expecting to change into a big red dragon again, only to get beat down by Ronan, it never happened.. though something worse did. After the troblins were killed, everyone around felt the same gut wrenching stomach pain. A pain you could hardly do anything against, as if someone was twisting a dagger into your stomach, and all you could do is stand there and hope for it to end.

    Everyone felt the same.. everyone felt horrible but maybe, that was what pushed us so hard into that cave to find him, to kill him, to end the torture we were going through. If the pain wasn't bad enough, we all began to change, much like last time but, different. We couldn't controll it. It hurt.. everything hurt, my entire body ached with every change, every form I took. I guess thats to be expected, when you're not in controll of what you're changing into. I'm just glad it didn't happen while we were fighting off goblins and troblins.. although, a claw is as good as a kama if needed.

    We faught our way deep within the caves, all the way down to the bottom. And there he was, Eggbutt, stirring some giant pot.. while singing, horribly. We cut him down, it wasn't easy, but he did fall. Unfortunately.. he stood back up, but not as a goblin.. as this, ugly, giant spider-bug type thing. It was a struggle, but we took him down once more. Not long after he fell, another demon girl with wings showed up.. this one, I don't know. She took the thing that gave Eggbutt all his power, and then vanished in a swirl of flames. No sooner did she leave, the pain was gone. Everyone either destroyed.. or looted the place. And then we left.

    Hard to believe something so small that it can fit in the palm of your hand can be so dangerous.. Its almost enough to make me worry as to what this soulgem I have is capable of.. and my sword. Am I taking a big risk carrying these things around with me? I can't controll the sword.. and the soul gem just ... stares at me? If that makes sense..

    Ah well.. I'm tired and my body still hurts.. Might pay Tindra a visit to relax in that hotspring she mentioned.


  • Many things have happened over the past few days. Oddly enough, none of them dangerous or life threatening.

    Danika has a voice! Its difficult for her to speak now, but she can. With time, practice, and patience, she'll probably be speaking more than Eli when she rants on about her clothes. I'll try and spark up any sort of conversation to help get her voice back to what it should be. Luckily, I can think up twenty questions in a matter of seconds.

    Magic is slow going, but its going somewhere, I think. Its not as if its an easy thing to do, even if it comes naturally. Tindra says it was dangerous for her to learn controll way back then, and that she could have accidently killed someone if they just spooked her. Although, I did like how she described hers, ready to come out as soon as she prods it. Simple, and makes so much sense. However, if I had to describe it for myself, its as if I'm surrounded by dust.. no dust settles and you can clump it up. Snow? Nah.. lets go with air, its everywhere, all around me, and its up to me to gather it in and focus it. Its complicated, but I'll eventually get it down.

    Something else, I really should be more carefull when I use my darkness. It scares Kaetlyn, and puts Tindra on edge. Although.. alot of people react to it differently. Maybe I've just had it so long that its become second nature to me? Or maybe I'm just more comfortable with it because I'm the one in controll.. either way, I need to be more carefull.

    Caling is also looking more like a sail. Black and gold. Ah well, shes following Sabres orders.. which are to gather as many goblin grenades as possible. Calia said something about them creating a 'super weapon' out of it? I'll find Sabre and see what she'll tell me. An explosive can only make one thing, and thats an explosion.

    Speaking of Calia, I'm not sure what to do with her.. she seems, even colder, speaking to people as if they don't even belong in her pressence. Shes still the same to me as she was years ago. But I guess everyone else is just.. everyone else. I know shes a noble but she shouldn't be treating others this way, specially if all they did was introduced themself in a friendly manner. I'll see what I can do.


  • Two in a row! Jerrick will be proud, another victory for the pack! The prize was different this time. I was sort of sad, as those arrows from the last contest were amazing. But the gems the final three got to pick from were all breath taking. Since I won, I got first pick. The blue one looked incredible.. but somehow I knew Yana would have wanted it, so I took the red one instead. Sure enough, she walked up and took the blue one. I hope it made her feel a little better. She wasn't her usual, happy giggling self durring the fights.

    Eli wasn't herself either, durring the archery contest, she just stood back by the craft hall, avoiding everyone. I tried to talk to her a little durring the breaks from the contest but then I was pulled off to the finals.

    We spent the rest of our time placing bets on boxing matches. Stubs did great! … Eli bet on him the entire time. All in all, I lost almost every bet, and might have lost about two hundred gold ... but she gave it all back. I'll have to find out what was bugging her.

    Scroll collecting is also going slow.. as, now I have to split my findings between Tindra and Feather. Its difficult to know which ones to give to one or the other, as.. some of them I can't read a single word on the whole scroll. Really should learn a little on the arcane.. at least untill I can understand the scrolls enough to know if this one is going to heal me, or light me on fire.

    Scratch that, I'll just have Tindra sort them. Easier that way.


  • Just had my second meeting with Liryawen. Only this time, its like she hasn't been the one sleeping. Its odd, how she helped me so easily, but can't do the same for herself.. Maybe since I'm no seer her method works on me better than her? I'm not sure.

    Shes also very, skittish around people. Well, not people but.. close contact with people. This red hair hin.. whos name escapes me for some reason.. think it started with an L. Ah well. She ran up to the gathering of people by the fire, screamed "New people!" Then went from person to person, hugging them and introducing herself. But when she ran up to Liryawen holding her arms out, she immediately started to back away. Trying to avoid all contact whatsoever. She turned invisable.. I half expected her to of ran off. But she then turned me invisable.

    Following her foosteps, we went to the grapevine, and there we talked a little about what happened. She fears pickpockets.. knifes to her back. Makes sense I guess.. am I to trusting? Anyway.. if I had to place a guess on it.. shes a seer, so.. maybe shes seen how she dies? I won't pry to much.. I shouldn't.

    Archery is starting. Maybe I can win again?


  • Sad how you make a list of things you -are- going to get done, and set out to do just the things on a list, and you never complete it..

    Dustin is dead, Ronan killed him. Burned him to nothing but dust or.. ash, whatever. Despite the fact that he was a vampire, I honestly think he was trying to teach us all a lesson in life.. lets hope I learned it.

    Also, never even got the chance to talk to Crux about Harvey. Though I do know alot more about her now.. like for one, why she is the way she is around me. And that she'll probably be like this for a little while. Its annoying.. but I promised to help her. Because I swear she is almost like Hedia, or.. how Hedia used to treat me way back when. Speaking of though.. shes back. I feel like I'm playing with fire around a short fuse powder keg in this situation, so.. trying to be carefull.

    Oh, and some good news. A few nights back , Hawk, another vampire, but one thats also probably inbetween Harvey and Dustin in terms of nice, showed up. Asking if he could take cover on our tower for the night. Saying someone was after him. Fivehundred undead and one hundred demons later, the attack was finally over. Turns out he pissed off some demon girl. And she was sending these things after him. … Okay thats not the good news, here's the good news. Last night, we put an end to this demon girls rampage. Hawk thanked me, and Belma'r then dissapeared before the sunrose. We'll see him again I'm sure.

    And... even though my last few days haven't been interesting enough ... I seem to have made a new friend. Four legs, antlers, beedy black eyes.. can probably guess, a deer. Very strange deer.. went around licking everyone, and if it didn't like how they taste well.. it would gag and spit in their face. It did this to Benji, then to Caling and.. unfortunately to me. Guess what? I taste better than everyone else.. by a long shot. I swear the deer tried to give me tongue! So I put my finger over its mouth and pushed it away ... didn't help, the thing bit down on my finger! And to make matters worse, started sucking on it! Which . . . . appearently was a little bit, much, as it sort of well... then ran off ... Jerrick appearently thoght it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. I really hope that was just some.. druidess? Not impossible right? Could have been..

    I bathed for three hours after that... Caling joined so, I guess it wasn't all that bad?


  • Targohr came into the healers and told me to come.. more trouble at the south gates … hadn't I been through enough? Appearently not! I ran down south.. and Devlin was there, along with Val, and Targohr.. appearently a goblin sneak tried to get through, and they thought there was going to be an attack. I was tired.. frusterated, and Devlin being himself just annoyed me then so.. kicked one boot against the other and scouted about the area ... perfectly clear. By time I got back Devlin was taunting ... absolutely nothing. The sun was rising so I went back inside.

    I tried my luck at writing up a report on everything that had happened ... but the scout office was out of ink, either that or Belinda was trying to play with me.. if she was well.. thats kind of cute. I made an attempt to get some rest ... oddly enough, theres a bed right inside of the scout office. But it was no good.. My thoughts were to mixed up ... alot has happened. I thought a walk would do me some good, and.. it did, but not the walk. I met someone or.. bumped into her while walking down the road. It was the strangest thing.. we were walking along, and both rubbed our eyes then just sort of.. looked over to the each other.. her giggle at that was cute. She was nice, friendly.. and honestly.. beautifull, I think I have a weakness for eyes, maybe. Anywho, the two of us talked there for a bit, then introduced ourselfs.. Her name is Liryawen.. shes, well I'm not sure what you would call her. She helps people better understand their dreams. Which.. was strangely convenient that we met.. maybe its a little pat on the head from the gods and goddesses for all the stuff I've been through that night.

    We made our way to the grapevine and sat down by the campfire.. she set out an mirror on the ground in front of her, and told me to go ahead, and explain the dream that was troubling me.. It all started in a ca- scratch that, it will take this whole page. I told her of the dream, it was easy to remember.. as I've had it many times since well ... anyway. I had thought that I knew what the dream meant, it seemed pretty obvious and clear to me. But turns out the other 'me' was trying to tell me something else. And I just needed to listen. She also went on explaining.. with her dress, how a line, travelling beside another, will continue on even though the line beside it stops. We would have discussed more on the subject, but Targohr walked up and ... asked if I was on a date.
    . I can't be mad at him though.. I mean, he's Targohr. He even gave us both ale, which was.. nice?
    She drank one, and though I probably -needed- it.. I didn't.

    After a little more talk.. I got up, figuring it I didn't get some form of rest I was going to do.. or say something stupid. Turns out ... I did do something stupid, or.. didn't do something, that was stupid? She offered to help me focus, holding out her hand and forming a small ball of light. Much like I do.. only, the opposite. She then said she was going to remove my senses, and that I needed to focus on the ball of light. I asked her if I could have my senses back when she was done with them ... my attempt at trying to be cute I guess. But she promised.. and held out her pinky to me. For the life of me I swear I thought it was part of the spell! She probably thinks I'm slow now.. or something. Its been what? Only.. seven years since I've seen a pinky promise? Anyway... we locked pinky fingers and the promise was made, and like that, I could no longer see.. or hear. It was.. peacefull, I guess. I'm used to not seeing.. but I've always got my ears up.. It didn't last long, and it slowly, my sight and hearing returned. She then did it again, only.. this time much faster, and just like that, silent dark ... when my sense came back she explained, that when I go to rest, don't think of anything, or anyone.. just focus on the light, and then when my mind is focused.. to blow it out. It only made sense to me after I told her that then I'd have nothing left ... appearently that was the right answer. I said my thanks, and we said our farewells.. and as I turned to leave, she vanished. Which.. was a little odd.

    I'm happy to say that, it worked. It worked really well. Writing this now I feel better than I have in days. I'll have to thank her again for her help. Amazing what a chance meeting like that can do. So I've decided to make a list.

    Figure out just what Dustin wants.
    Talk to Albry about Caling being a sail.
    Thank Liyrawen again for her help.

    And ... talk to Crux about Harvey. Fun.


  • Alana invited us all up to the hillside by the south gates, to get away from the thick smoke down below.. but it was getting dark. I offered them all my hillside for the night, inside norwick right above the archery targets … however, Alana didn't think the vampires would be so quick to return. Its amazing really.. after all that she honestly didn't think he was out there. So to prove a point.. I walked up to the cliffside, held my arms out and sure enough, got struck with a point. ... much to my friends suprise... Of course it was him, the archer.. who I've named Dustin. He seemed in good spirits though, better than the night before. I guess getting beaten kind of does that to a vampire.. I don't know. He said I asked for that one though, and.. heh, I did, ah well, he jumped up on the hillside and healed me, no harm done.

    He was here tonight to prove a point.. I think. After.. well.. groping Alana, poor girl turned as red as her hair.. she hasn't changed a bit... anyway. After that, he went on telling us how, even though we were alive, we weren't living. And he hates that. He also says.. that if you don't live, vampires just treat you like cattle, mindless, lifeless food. And as horrible as that sounds.. it does make alot of sense. If you're not living your life.. if you're just, wasting it, not doing anything then.. whats it worth? I can imagine.. he's seen this many times in his lifetime, and in his after-lifetime.. he's probably really old, much older than me. He struck a nerve though.. and its had me thinking ever since.. what am I doing with my life? I train my scouts.. I try and keep my wolf family together as best I can. And I normally just run into more and more trouble. Is that enough to be considered living? I'm not sure anymore.. I think, I'll need to focus on something for me.. for once, just one thing maybe. Thats not much to ask right?

    Anyway.. Dustin jumped off the hillside down to the half-tower ... I can make that jump too. But no sooner did he land, Alana helped prove the point he was trying to make. She threw fireballs at him. And he dropped her with three arrows... she wasn't in danger, he missed all the vitals.. but she did pass out from the bloodloss. We patched her up.. and while doing so Dustin told us that -that- is exactly what he was talking about.. throwing her life away, saying she didn't care about her life, or any of ours. Although.. I don't see that. I think Alana felt.. helpless in the situation, something I can relate with, though it wasn't the best decision she made in a panic. Because, if he wanted, Dustin could have easily killed, fed, or turned the whole lot of us on the hill that night. Of course a few fireballs wouldn't take him down.. probably just annoyed him if not burnt him a little, and honestly.. you don't wound what you can't kill. Specially when the thing you can't kill is happily walking away leaving you alone.

    Alana is fine now.. Noah took her to the healers, I followed to make sure they were both alright ... and unfortunately so did Dana. Its not as if shes mean, or.. well she is annoying, and coming from me thats pretty bad. She just wouldn't leave them alone.. how horrible is it that even though someone is trying to help, you wish they would just stop and go away? I like to help people but.. there is a time when you need to stand back and let them take care of themself, specially if your help isn't -needed-. Alana was fine.. Noah was fine, but Dana wouldn't leave ... I had never been so tempted to poke someone with my pixie arrow and drag them out by their leg. Is that bad? Either way.. my night was still not over .... I'm beggining to think the gods and goddesses watching over me had an odd sense of humor that night... next page.


  • ….Alana charged in first, and I was right behind her, Noah, quickly followed. I'll admit it.. I thought it for a split second, that this would be my final night. We faught.. I moved as fast as I could, giving it everything I had. And in the end.. all my years spent training with Nicahh, all the attacks at the gates.. everything, was no match for him. He's much faster.. though, I imagine he's had his entire life.. and then some. But still.. I thought myself to be pretty quick.

    He started to run shortly after I was about to colapse.. everyone chased him, and somehow.. so did I. I'm not sure what was going through my mind.. a strong wind gust would have knocked me over at that point. But I managed a few arrows in him. The group chased him into the ruins.. and to my luck, there was enough magic in my belt to heal me a little. By time I caught my breath and caught back up with them, they had killed him.. or, defeated him. As he turned to mist and floated away. I'm beggining to think, that was a mistake. I heard screaming.. screeches, horrible sounds ... his girlfriends. Multiple vampires rushed us, and fortunately for us.. they weren't as skilled as the one we've barely managed to beat. And ... unfortunately for us, our night wasn't over. As we tried to stumble our way back to the gates.. a gnome walked up before us. Can pretty much guess it, another vampire. Only, this one doesn't play games. He just eats. Did learn one thing from the gnome though.. he's scared of the archer vampire. Thats good I guess, so long as the archer is out there we won't have to fight the gnome. Despite his games.. and the fact that he's better at me in both archery, and combat, the archer at least talks.. more on that later. One of ours fell to the gnome.. not sure how, probably a spell, Celad. After chasing off the gnome.. the group carried him back to the healers. And for a minute as I saw the gates, I thought the night was over ... why? I don't know.. maybe I thought I'd been through enough.. maybe it was just wishfull thinking. But no, another vampire showed up. Only thing is.. this one I know, or know of. Harvey is his name.. he's polite, not crazed like the gnome, and doesn't play games like the archer. I'm not sure which one is my favorite yet.. Harvey, or the archer.. I'll pick one eventually. You see Harvey showed me a trick.. the whole turning into mist thing that vampires can do? I did that! He ran up to me, grabbed me, and in an instant.. I was somewhere else. I have to learn to do that myself.. if not for survival, then for the fun it would be to be able to do it. He didn't stay long after, and as soon as he left I made my way to the temple, to check on my scout.

    Celad is fine, I told him to take the next few days off his training and get some rest. He'll need it.. but he'll be fine, I'm sure of it. The group in the temple left, leaving me with Alana, Benji, Noah, and Caling.. we discussed what happened.. what we could do, and, what we knew good and well we couldn't do. I was tired.. I needed some rest, so I left the temple leaving them to think on all these vampires.. made my way to my hillside, settled down and.. out runs Alana from the temple in a mad dash of long red hair towards the south gates... No rest for me. By time I made my way back down Noah was standing around, probably wondering where she went. So I took him south. There we found Alana, and an elf that I don't know yet.. The sun was high in the sky, and the gates were a mess, the archer turned them to splinters the night before so.. we set about cleaning up the mess. Some went to the small cooking fire, and the larger peices went outside the walls in a pile all their own. The elf.. suggested that it might catch the grass on fire. I didn't think it was possible, it rains so much here but.. what do I get for thinking? Fire, lots of it. I'm glad I had these arrows from the contest, they made quick work of the fire.. along with ice shards hitting Alana, Noah, and the elf ... I told them to back up. Either way.. they're alright.. it was getting dark and-..I need another page.