3. Marie's Diary - Notes of a travelling hin

Marie's Diary - Notes of a travelling hin


  • The Twentythird of Kythorn, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    It's been a little over a year since I died and returned now. Those scars still haven't healed, and I'm not sure they ever will. The physical scars still remind me of my foolishness, and the mental scars flare up whenever I get myself in over my head.

    I was up in Peltarch when I ran into Dietrick a week ago. He wanted to go and explore the orc caves. Knowing how strong he is, I decided to go alone with him so that I could see him in combat and gauge his strengths for myself.

    He fights like a man possessed. I can't think of any other way of describing it. He destroyed every orc he saw, we grabbed everything they had of value, and were about to make our way out when we ran into Adelie. She had come in for the exact same reason, so Dietrick decided to team up with her and head south to meet up with Telli. Apparently Dietrick wanted to explore Ostromog's Mines, as he'd never been there before.

    We made our way down to Norwick, and met up with Julinda, she's a musician and is very pretty for a human. Miss Telli was there too, so the five of us made our way south again, to the Rawlins and into the section of the woods controlled by the hobgoblins.

    Telli, Dietrick, and Adelie ripped through them like a gnome in a pie shop. We moved into the mines and took out all the foes in front of us, before heading deeper. There were these glowing shards down there that cursed you if you touched them, and a huge shard that spat negative energy at you if you got too close.

    Deeper and deeper we went. I was so outclassed, so underpowered, that it was all I could do to stay at the back and out of sight, in case any of the badguys decided that I might look tasty. I've never felt so useless in all of my life.

    We kept going, until we found a large spider that seemed to be surrounded by poison so strong that it weakened everyone in the group, causing their muscles to shrink like they'd just gotten really, really old. They managed to defeat that one, and so we went on.

    At what I thought would be the end of our adventure, they found a spider bigger than the Bebilith I fought before. It must have been a hundred times bigger than me!

    And so they decided that it would be fun to fight it! Fun!

    They retreated for a moment to pray for magics and blessings, prepared themselves, and damn them if they didn't kill it in less than a minute.

    I thought, this should be the end. They should be happy to head home now. But no, they wanted to continue, go as deep as they can.

    The next section contained rock critters that seemed to come out of the walls and attack, smacking everyone around. If I'd been in the middle of them, I would have died in two or three hits, without issue. And I couldn't even hit them myself!

    So they continued on, gleefully destroying everything in their path when we came across a magical looking boulder. Dietrick decided that whatever ore it was made from would make a great magical sword, and so he went to mine it.

    As soon as he touched it, he disappeared in a shower of stones. Adelie and Telli went over and touched the stone too, and they disappeared! So that left me and Julinda, alone, deep beneath the surface, in a place that we can't escape from. So, not sure if we would live or die, we went forward and touched it as well.

    Everything went black for a moment, and then there was this sensation of something pushing down on me, like the air itself became really heavy. When my vision returned, I found that I was in a place surrounded by stones. There was a few dead bodies there, presumably from people who fell due to the environment, or perhaps a wandering monster.

    Dietrick and the others started investigating. Eventually they worked out how they could move around the area, and they went exploring. They only stopped when they could go no further, and Miss Telli advised them that she was nearly out of potions AND blessings.

    I think that place we were in was the Elemental Plane of Earth.

    Anyway, we headed back as quickly as we could, fighting our way out to the surface, where we were faced with a hobgoblin and bugbear ambush.

    They defeated them all again, and continued out of the woods and back to town. I headed up to Peltarch to get some rest, and I ran into Alexi.

    I mentally collapsed at that point, and told him the whole story of what happened. He listened to me patiently, and tried to calm me while I cried on him. All of my training could not have prepared me for that adventure, deep within the earth.

    But the worst of it was that I dropped every pretense I had, and I told him how I felt about him. He took it really well, and tried to reassure me, told me that he wouldn't be leaving me alone, and that he wouldn't let me fall alone. He would always bring me back.

    Eventually he took me to the inn and put me to bed, sitting on a chair next to me, crooning quietly in sylvan.

    My dreams were bad that night, but at least I could sleep.


  • The Seventeenth of Mirtul, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    I don't think I've ever worked so hard at something that was so sedentary! I've just spent the last week helping Alexi sort out his storage chest. Apparently it's a chest that has magic bound to it so that it can store a huge number of things in a small area. I might have to see about getting one for a house one day, it would probably work really well.

    Anyway, he was getting frustrated because everything was all mixed up, and he could never find what he was looking for in a hurry. We tried all manner of sorting, but in the end we had to empty the chest and sort it out, item by item, piece by piece, and put it all back into storage boxes to then put in the chest.

    There were two things in the chest that really surprised me. One was a green set of leather armour. It was so powerful that I could feel the magic emanating from it. The other was a wedding dress.

    Alexi told me that the green leathers were a gift from a goddess. The wedding dress belongs to Senria, his wife.

    They've been apart for a long time now. He's done everything he can to try and bring her back into his life, but she's just not interested in anything but her work for Oscura. I've never met her, or even seen a picture of her.

    I don't know if there was something bad that passed between the two of them, but Alexi told me it's because they are from different worlds, and neither can make a compromise for the other. Senria is devoted to her people, and Alexi is devoted to his.

    I wish there was some way they could work it out. Alexi seems so sad when we talk about it. And it makes me feel kinda weird too, that he's married to a woman that I've never seen and may never see.

    Anyway,I think we'd been going for four days without rest when I finally passed out on the floor. By that time, I'd sorted the armours, gloves, belts, traps, weapons, cloaks, helms, and normal clothing. I was about to start on the potions when I blacked out.

    I woke up a few days later at the Dancing Mermaid. He'd paid for my room, and gone back to his work. I don't know how he does it, but there's certainly a quiet calm about him that I hope one day I can emulate myself. That, and his determination to do what he needs to do, regardless of the cost.

    Will I have the courage to do what I need to, when the time comes?


  • The Third of Tarsahk, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    I've been on a trip into the Underdark now, first time I've ever been so deep. I even found where the mindflayer met us, deep beneath the surface on the edge of an underground lake.

    I was in Peltarch when I ran into Benji. He showed me his collection of crossbows, in the hopes of making a sale. So I placed an order with him for a master's cherrywood crossbow, should he be able to find the wood to make one.

    He then asked me to come with him, as he had to go and meet a master crafter in Oscura, for a trip into the Underdark. I, of course, agreed, thinking that this was a good chance to explore somewhere that I've not really been before.

    We headed down there, and met up with a man in fullplate and a helm. Marty calls him Paul, but he took his helm off and it turns out that he's actually Rando. I always had a sneaking suspicion that he was, but this just confirmed it for me.

    Anyway, so we made our way into the Underdark, going through the Kuo-tua caves and to an area known as The Lake. Many creatures seem to live near it, either for water, or to eat the creatures that go there for water. We encountered and dispatched Umberhulks, Hooked Horrors, and even a Magic Eater before we decided to head back.

    But then, Rando found a door that led somewhere. Not knowing where it went, he of course decided that he had to go through it.

    Now, Rando is an awesome warrior, far tougher and stronger than I am. He managed to beat down everything we encountered without too much issue. But even he was challenged by the area we went into.

    It turned out to be the way into the bottom of the crypts outside of Norwick. Piecework Giants, corrupted undead, and fallen warriors assaulted us, threatening to add us to their number. Several times I thought we were all done for.

    But, in the end, we emerged tired but triumphant. We dragged our sorry selves to town, and sold what we managed to pick up for a tidy profit.

    The best part of it for me was seeing all the water down there. There were crystals in it, probably from flowing through the stones. When I shined light in there, I could see blind cave fish, and beautiful colours as the light reflected off all the crystals, basking the cave in a brilliant hue.

    If only there was a way I could share that with others.


  • The Twelth of Ches, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    And the plot gets thicker. Much, much thicker. Today was my first ever encounter with a divine being.

    I met up with some adventurers: Darius, Lady Shade, and Yng'dir. They wanted to go out to try and find that lady who ran off yesterday. So we made our way out to the orc plain, and tried to find some tracks… not that we needed to.

    Within a few minutes of us starting our search, she walked up to us, and told us that we needed to follow the right path. We, stupidly, decided to humour her and asked her to show us the right path. So she opened a portal and sucked us into the Underdark.

    There we were faced with a mindflayer, and it's minions. It spoke directly into our minds, and told us that it was a friend, that it wanted us to help it bring down Oscura. It must have used some kind of mind control, because I believed it. I did argue with it a little, as I didn't think it was making sense, but in the end I would have done what it asked if it wasn't for Yng'dir.

    He refused to do the mindflayer's bidding. To his face. And for this, he was run through with a sword by the noble lady.

    That broke the spell it had on us, and just as we were about to try and strike it down, a blinding light burst in the cavern and a winged creature appeared, sent down by Selune to aid Yng'dir. Upon seeing it, the mindflayer ran for it's life as we moved in for the kill, dispatching it's minions whilst it departed.

    Lady Shade told me that it was an archon, a servant of Selune sent in her place to aid her followers, and that one day she hoped to ascend to their ranks herself.

    The creature sent us back to the surface and restored Yng'dir to full health and vitality. We then made our way quickly to the city so that I could pass on warning to the Valley and to Peltarch, in case they weren't already aware of this development.

    The other thing that the creature told us is that as far as it knows, the Drow are working alone. They don't have any surface allies. Now, whether that was true or not, I can't say, but I hope that it is, and that the rumours that the Drow have allied with the Gypsies proves to be false.

    A war on two fronts is one that few would survive.


  • The Eleventh of Ches, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    The last day has been very interesting, and a little worrying. I met up with some adventurers who wanted to explore the Orc Caves. I tagged along, figuring that I can do merchant duty (ie. carry all the loot) whilst they go about butchering everything that moves.

    We made our way into the cave and through to the first open room where the orcs seem to congregate. Everything was going well until they encountered what I found out later was a Were-cat. They slew it, and instantly things started going wrong. Some of them started acting like wild animals, sniffing the air and trying to work out with their senses what was happening…

    Siegurd seemed to retreat inside himself, as if something shatteringly wrong had happened to him. I don't understand it at all, but maybe his god got upset with him for some reason?

    Anyway, we left the cave and were heading back to town when we came across a human lady noble. She was wearing tattered clothing and had a sword in her hands, although I doubt she knew how to use it.

    I think it was Darius, he did something that spooked her, and she ran off. We gave chase to try and help her because she seemed to be out of it, mentally at least.

    We never found her, but Siegurd broke down and sat in a ball, crying, whilst Darius and another human got upset that Lady Shade wanted to try and cure them of a curse from the Were-cat.

    All in all, there was a lot of arguing and a lot of bad feeling going on, all because they had to attack first and ask questions later.

    I will never understand some people.


  • The Ninth of Alturiak, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: The Silver Valley
    Weather: Sunny

    It's my birthday again today, I'm Nineteen now. I've still got another eleven years until I'll be considered to be an adult by the folks back home, but everyone here seems to accept me as one anyway.

    I've spent the last week with Alexi, travelling between the different towns and making sales. Some folk are interested in the different alcohols he has, others in his arrows, and others still in the different clothing he has available.

    It's certainly interesting to see how everyone reacts when he says that 'm his bodyguard. Most look at him to check if he's serious, and when they can see that he is, they look at me with a degree of caution, as if I must be incredibly dangerous even though I'm smaller than them.

    For my birthday though, he took me to the Gypsy Woods so I could meditate at the waterfalls there.

    We beat back the spiders and made our way through until we got there, and for once he guarded me while I relaxed and tried to focus my thoughts, reflecting on the nature of water and the power it holds.

    And yet, my thoughts wouldn't go there. They kept returning to him.

    My master back at the monastery told me of a great secret handed down to him by his master. Everything in life, everything in this world and the next, is a circle. And within each of us is a circle, but it is broken.

    In order to complete the circle, we must find the missing piece, find what it is that makes it whole. And when I find the piece, whether it be an item, a person, a place, or a feeling or memory, that I will be completed and able to master everything so that i might become a master myself.

    For him, the thing that completed his circle was a memory: an event in his past where he found the truth of his own walk, that the act of seeking for it was the completion of the circle.

    When I speak of finding my Way, I'm seeking for the piece of the circle that completes me.

    And I think I know what it is, but it flies in the face of everything that I've learnt, of everything that I thought to be true.

    I was taught by my parents that hin marries hin. I was taught by my master that monks do not take partners. I was taught by master dwarf that I must defeat my emotions to be able to progress in my training.

    Until now, I never questioned the wisdom of these things.

    Could it be that the missing piece of my soul is a human?


  • The Second of Alturiak, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Cold and Windy

    I was in town today after returning from working in Norwick with the Sisterhood when I heard a disturbance in the commons. It seems that giant spiders were attacking the citizens, dropping from the roofs. They were the same types I've seen in the Gypsy Woods, so I set to dispatching them as quickly as I could.

    No sooner was one wave wiped out than another descended to cause chaos. We beat them back again and again, but then we were attacked by badgers and rats and weasels!

    We started checking the surrounding buildings to try and find out if they were coming from anywhere in particular, and we found that the Peltarch Theatre was infested with poisonous frogs.

    I don't remember much after that, but I do know that they poisoned me pretty badly. Me! I'm so resistant to poison I'm almost immune to most poisons, and they still managed it. Apparently it dropped my awareness so low that I started drooling, walking into walls and laughing, and calling for the "froggies" to come to me. As if I hadn't been poisoned enough already.

    Anyway, they killed the last of the frogs and everyone went back to the commons to relax and recover. Miss Marty used some healing magics on me to restore my awareness, and I went off for a bath to clean off all the goo, poison and drool.

    That has to be the most embarrassing thing that has happened since I left home.


  • The Thirtieth of Hammer, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Raining

    This week has been a great week for the Sisterhood, the best in years. I've managed to recruit four ladies to our ranks. Danika, Lady Shade, Reriana, and Molova.

    I was talking with Lady Shade in Peltarch about the Sisterhood. She told me that she had spoken with Marty about it and was interested in joining, but she would like to see our home first.

    I was making my way to the boat with her and Alexi when we ran into Reriana and Molova, who were also interested in seeing what we did. So the five of us made our way south on the boat. We chatted about different things, about who can be in the Sisterhood, what kind of things we do, and where we've come from. I showed them around, introduced them to as many of the ladies as I could, and shared my hopes and dreams for the Sisterhood with them.

    They all agreed to become Sisters. I gave them dresses, and we celebrated with drinks in the bar downstairs. Alexi seemed amused by all of it, but I think he approves of ladies working together to improve their lot. Reriana threatened to force him into a dress, which made him go pale. It was kinda funny, really.

    Once we finished our drinks, we set to work with different aspects of what was needed at the inn before collapsing in bed at the end of the day, exhausted but happy. I'd done what no Sister in years has done:- recruited more ladies

    The next day I was coming downstairs when I saw Miss Danika, the mute adventurer in the common room. We got to discussing different things, and I treated her to a meal with dessert. She'd never had banana before, or anything dipped in chocolate! I think she'll definitely be ordering that dessert more often.

    Anyway, we spoke about the Sisterhood, and I showed her around the same way I did the previous day with the others, and she agreed to join as well!

    Four ladies in less than a day! I hope this is a sign of times to come, and that we'll be able to move forward with our work. And I hope that it makes things easier for Miss Maya, she's been working too hard for too long.

    May all the gods bless our work as we move forward.


  • The Seventh of Hammer, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Sunny

    I've spent some time meditating since my last diary entry. There has been things that have been plaguing my thoughts for a while, and I decided to devote some time to them.

    One thing was where my training was going. I seem to have hit some kind of barrier, where it's harder to advance. I know that I don't have that much further to go before I unlock some of the greatest secrets of the Hin Fist, but there is something whether it's inside of me or in the world, that is holding me back.

    Another thing was about where my goals here are taking me. I've been working my butt off trying to get the Sisterhood up and running again properly. I've been patrolling the lands to try and keep the Halfling Defense League informed. And I've been recruiting as many as I can for Alexi so he can keep his business running well.

    But I still feel like there's something missing, something just isn't right.

    So I made a trip alone south to the Gypsy woods, and climbed up to the Pixie Roost. I always seem to feel so relaxed up there, even though the pixies are all gone now. I hope they come back one day.

    Alexi told me the other day about the different courts of fey, the Seelie and the Unseelie, how the Seelie means well and the Unseelie means evil… well... it's more complicated than that, but that's the easiest way of putting it.

    I spent three days up there, trying to focus my thoughts. So many different things ran through my mind whilst I fasted there, thoughts of the past, present and future, thoughts on the nature of water and the power it holds, my training, the people I've met and travelled with...

    But my thoughts keep coming back to one man. Alexi. And I'm not sure why. No-one has ever dominated my thoughts like this. I wonder if he's going to play an important role in my life now, or if I just had a bad piece of venison and it's affecting me.

    Either way, I need to find out more.


  • The Twentyfirst of Nightal, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Open skies

    There was another Fight Night tonight. I heard that the Valley was making an official appearance by sending some of the Dragoons, as well as Captain Dietrick and Councillor Theon. So I made sure I was there to catch up with them all, see if there was anything much happening.

    I mentioned in passing that I had found work with Alexi, and they both started grumbling and talking bad about him. Dietrick says that he thinks there's something weird about Alexi, and Theon says that he thinks he's got fey blood or something similar, or that maybe he's an undead. In any case, they both don't like the fact that I'm working for him, but I assured them that if I ever have an issue with what he asks me to do, that I won't be doing it. They seemed to accept that.

    Anyway, I headed back up north after a while, and ran into a Damarran Corsair who was playing high-low in the commons with some adventurers. One of them had just lost a hundred gold to him, and he was obviously enjoying himself, thinking that he would get out of this ahead. So I prayed silently to Brandobaris, and pulled out my coin purse, betting him five hundred gold that I could roll higher than he.

    He rolled a three, I rolled a six. You should have seen the look on his face! It was priceless! He tried to push me for double or nothing, but I was determined that I was taking his coin. He grumbled and tossed me a heavy bag, whilst the others laughed at his expense.

    After that, the corsair made his way back to his ship very quickly. Seems he forgot that hin have the best luck with dice.

    He won't forget that in a hurry now.


  • The Ninth of Nightal, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Snowing

    Seems like I've found a firm friend in Alexi. He's a very interesting guy, and there's a lot more to him than it first seems. He says that he's a simple merchant, but I don't believe him about that much at least.

    We've been working together to try and recruit more workers for his business, and it's going pretty well so far. A half-orc called Drob has signed up, and what he lacks in sense he makes up for with brute strength.

    Most of what we've done over the last few weeks has been trips to gather wood or hides or herbs, plus the occassional loot run to help fund him between sales.

    There was an interesting one though…

    We were out looking for pine, and had been having no luck when I suggested that we head down to the Gypsy Woods and make our way through the spiders, as there's some good wood in that area.

    So we grabbed a potential recruit in a lady called Coin, and I employed a hin cleric of Waukeen called Kate to keep me alive whilst down there, and we made our way south.

    Working together, Coin, Alexi and I managed to clear out the first spider area without issue. She's got an interesting fighting style, which although a little blunt seems to be effective.

    So we moved on to the second spider area, where the harder ones live. Kate starts casting all these spells on me to make me tougher, and can I tell you, I wish I had her with me all the time! Their webs couldn't hit me, their bites couldn't hit me, and it was as easy as breathing to end their lives. It felt glorious!

    We got to the spot where the wood was, and Alexi was in for a treat. Not only was there pine, but there was birch as well, which is even rarer, and something he needed to practice on. So I cleared out the rest of the area, just to be safe, and then guarded him whilst he cut the wood.

    When he was done, we continued on to our camping area on the other side of the woods and camped to get some rest and let Alexi and Coin get to know one another better.

    After a few hours of eating, talking and drinking, we made our way back. Miss Kate unfortunately had urgent business to attend to, so she scarpered off to leave us to fight our way out.

    Everything was going well until Coin decided to rush a horde of spiders by herself. One of them took offense to this, and hurled a gob of sticky web at her, sticking her in place. They then proceeded to rip her limb from limb. I tried to run in to help her, but they hit me with the sticky web too, thankfully I survived. Alexi and I managed to beat them back eventually, but it was real hard.

    We gathered up what we could find of her body and her belongings, and dragged ourselves back to town to get her raised. Alexi not only paid for her raise, but he paid both her and I over two hundred gold each for the trouble of going with him. I don't know if I've ever met a man as good hearted as him. I just hope that Coin picks up some common sense out of the experience.

    Don't ever rush a horde of spiders, it only ends in tears.


  • The Fifteenth of Uktar, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Raining

    I haven't seen much of Miss Marty lately, she's been so busy with paperwork that I think she must be going crazy from it. I was in the commons with some folk that I've met before in passing when we noticed smoke rising from the Nars Pass.

    Thinking that people must be in trouble, we set off to see what happened, and help out if we can.

    We met a shadowy man who told us that there had been a carriage accident, but he wasn't sure what had happened. So we went with him to the scene. Something seemed up to me though, so I hung at the back and thought about it for a sec. I was about to tell the others to hold up when a man stepped out of the shadows and swung at me with his axe, nearly cutting me in two!

    I ran forward, screaming out for aid to try and get the others to realise that we had been duped, this was an ambush!

    More bandits stepped out and attacked, quickly taking the others down. In the end, I drank a potion of invisibility and ran for my life, to try and get help against these evil bandits.

    Running back to town, I found a Senator, Mister Calen Ashenwynd. I told him about it, and he decided to march right up there and fix it himself. I wasn't sure that was such a good idea, but he was determined.

    Turns out he went down too, as did a few others.

    Eventually some of the Peltarch Defenders went out and recovered all the prisoners, but not before the bandits stole some of their belongings and left them tied up in the Pass for collection.

    I hope someone catches them soon.


  • The Second of Uktar, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Sunny

    Looks like I've found employment with pay, and a kind boss.

    I met a man called Alexi on my travels the other day, he saw that I was wounded and healed me without even asking for a payment. I ran into him again in the Peltarch Commons, and he told me that he's a merchant. Of course, I bought some potions off him and added them to my collection.

    Finally, we met in Norwick by chance, and he offered me work as a bodyguard for him, as he travels the land. We talked about various aspects of it, and in the end I agreed to it. In exchange for twenty gold per trip, plus an equal share of any treasure found, he would have a bodyguard.

    We made our first trip out together, to the Rawlins to collect herbs and various roots for potions. The goblins didn't know quite what to make of this, so they attacked like always. A few punches later they were on the run and we were free to do our gathering.

    After that we travelled north to Peltarch so he could collect some wood. The orcs didn't think too kindly of that, but they too saw reason, or at least death. We collected the wood, split the loot, and parted ways whilst he did some crafting.

    Now that I've got this regular income, I've opened a bank account so I can save up for the future. Never know when I'll need some coin. Initial depost for me was only five hundred gold, but it's a start, and I'm sure I'll be able to build on it.

    Everything seems to be falling in place at last.


  • The Thirtieth of Marpenoth, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Raining

    Miss Marty took me to see the Cold Cave Falls again. It has a whole new meaning for me now, and I don't think I ever really appreciated the rain quite so much. In fact, looking back through my diary I used to get upset at how much it rains. Not any more!

    The last month has been kinda quiet, but some things of interest have happened for me.

    I took part in my very first Fight Night, in the boxing contest. There, I took on Miss Yana. She's a guard up in Peltarch, and the adopted daughter of Miss Maya, head of the Sisterhood. Turns out she's a monk like me, but with a more martial focus. She uses swords and stuff sometimes, and she's really good at her job.

    Anyway, I figured because I'm a devoted monk, sticking directly to my training, that it would be an even match. How wrong could I be?

    She ripped me apart with punches so fast I could barely see them. As I lay on the ground, trying desperately to breathe and not pass out, I knew then that I'm nowhere near strong enough to return home. I was out-classed in my own discipline by another!

    I watched the rest of the boxing, and took some solace in the fact that she was the overall winner of the boxing, but it was still a wake up call.

    I stayed for the other events, watching with some interest and thinking about what had just happened for me. It wasn't that she's any faster than me, in fact, she's a little slower. And she's not as accurate as me with her punches. I think it's something to do with her martial training, something that makes her punch harder.

    That, and the fact that she's bigger than me, so she hits harder anyway.

    A few days after that fight I was travelling around when I heard that there was going to be an attack on the Gypsies in the Nars Pass. I jumped on my pony Kinte and made my way south to see what I could see.

    Everything seemed quiet until I got to Norwick. The defenders were manning the gates and questioning everyone who was going in and warning travellers to not go north except by boat.

    Turns out that drow want to take out Norwick for some reason, and rumours have been cirulating that the Gypsies have made an alliance with them. Oscura took this as evidence, and mobilised to try and bring the Gypsies down before the war started with Norwick caught in the middle.

    In the end, it was all called off as cool heads prevailed. There was no proof that the rumour was anything but a rumour, and had the attack preceded, there would have been many deaths.

    I'm glad that they stopped, I don't want the ladies and the children living with us to see another war like the last one. Too many lost family and friends to recover from it properly.

    The only ones who win with war are the crows.


  • The Twenty Ninth of Eleasis, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    I met again today with Master Dwarf. He taught me some more things about myself that I didn't know.

    After some chit chat in the commons, we went to the Lucky Ferret and he had me drink six bottles of whiskey. Six! I didn't know I could hold that much liquid, let alone that much liquor. But then, I started convulsing from it, and passed out. As I did, he told me to choose my guide again.

    Knowing that I was inside my own head made things a little easier to deal with this time. I was standing on an island, floating in the darkness. It was a roundish kinda island, divided into quarters. One quarter was covered with flames, another with ice and water, another with boulders and dirt, and the last with a roaring wind.

    As I looked around, I noticed that there was a figure standing in the flames. It turned around, and it was me! She looked exactly like me, except that her eyes were on fire, and her fists seemed to glow with the energy of the flames.

    She told me that she was fire, she was my emotions, and that to escape I had to defeat her. But, I could choose an ally to help defeat her if I wished. Suddenly, from the other quarters of the island three spirits appeared. A spirit of water, a spirit of earth, and a spirit of air.

    I spoke to all three in turn. Water told me that it was my adaptability, and my strength. Earth told me that it was my endurance, and my survival instincts. Air told me that it was my speed, and agility. But only one would aid me, and I had to help it destroy the other two spirits first.

    I asked them to work together, and they would not. I always thought that the different aspects of my abilities worked together to produce the whole, but this time it seems that I must choose a single aspect to favour.

    In the end, I chose water. Endurance and speed will pass with age, but adaptability will always be there. But it was not an easy choice, because all three are aspects of myself that I value highly. I just hope that this decision will not bode poorly for me in the future.

    Working together with the spirit of water, we defeated air and earth, and turned our attention to fire.

    It was an epic fight, that much I can tell you. We traded blows, feinted one another, and tried to get in the finishing shot. Her blows burnt my flesh where they hit, and I nearly died from her attacks.

    In the end though, I defeated fire with the aid of the water spirit. Once my heart rate dropped down, I spoke with water and it told me that it would now dwell within me, to guide me towards my Way. It then started to wrap around me somehow, and then moved within me, causing an eruption of water from my flesh!

    I returned from my lesson inside my own head, to the real world. Master Dwarf nodded as I told him what happened, and told me to continue seeking out the power of water in nature, to better understand myself.

    Now I am one with water. I wonder where this will take me.


  • The Sixth of Eleasis, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    I didn't know there was a serial killer and necromancer on the loose in Peltarch, but it turns out there is. They've called him the Number Killer, because he scribes a number into the forehead of his victims.

    Today I was in the commons when he took victim number seven.

    I was sitting there, chatting away with some friends when everything went dark. Suddenly, I felt an icy wind touch me, and drain some of my life away! Freaking out, I ran out of the darkness, and I could then see that it was an attack by undead spirits!

    I tried to fight them off as best I could, but luckily some adventurers turned up and took them out. We formed a party and tried to find out where they had come from, exploring the surrounding area until we came across another undead spirit that was standing over the corpse of victim number seven.

    It was far tougher than the others we had fought, but eventually it went down. We reported the murder to the guards, who took her body away for examination. Miss Marty filed a report about the whole thing, but I can't help but feel that if we'd been more alert, that maybe we could have stopped her dying.

    I hope they catch the killer soon.


  • The Ninth of Flamerule, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Raining

    Those wounds from the spider in the Underdark don't seem to want to heal properly. I've got two huge scars on my chest now, circular in nature and about the size of my fist. I guess that will always remind me to never underestimate my foe again. They still ache from time to time, as if I didn't feel bad enough about it all.

    Miss Marty wanted to go do something different today, so we went back out to the kobold caves so she could collect some mushrooms for cooking. The kobolds put up some resistance, but Miss Marty seems to know exactly what to do to put them down with a minimum of fuss. I hope that one day I'm as strong as her.

    We moved through the cave, collecting mushrooms and defeating kobolds as we went. Eventually though, we got to the end of the cave and had to turn back. We started to make our way out, when something strange happened.

    A kobold, larger than an any orc I've ever seen, turned up with a longsword in one hand, shaking and frothing at the mouth. He screamed out "SHROOMS!" and ran at Miss Marty, trying to kill her, take her bag of mushrooms, or maybe both.

    We fought him together, struggling against his abnormal strength and resilience. Miss Marty seemed real worried about this kobold, like she might not make it out alive. But, in the end, he was face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood, and we were not.

    As we made our way out of the cave, I saw a very unusual mushroom growing in the corner. It looked like a chicken! Laughing, I decided to take it with us and keep it to show others. We then headed south to Norwick, where I am right now, and made some lovely soup for the ladies in the Grapevine inn.

    They all seemed to really enjoy it, but I can tell that the cramped quarters are getting to them. We need to do something to get the Sisterhood Hall rebuilt, otherwise we won't be able to take in any more ladies.

    Last thing I want is to see ladies living on the street.


  • The Fourteenth of Kythorn, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    I died for the first, and I hope, last time today. It was an experience that was surreal and scary all at once, and I don't know how some folks can come back from it time after time.

    I was travelling with some friends when the word came out that Oscura was under attack, and needed aid. Whilst there is no love lost by me for Oscura, the attack was on the West Gate, and there's a lot of freed slaves there who can't really defend themselves.

    So I made my way there by boat, and set to helping the defense.

    There was all these weird monsters coming over to attack; Kuo-tua, Hooked Horrors, and even things that looked like baby Beholders! I stood back against the stuff that I thought was too tough for me, and flung shurikens in to distract them so others could do their work. It was working just fine.

    Then, some spiders started coming across the bridge. Now, I've been training to fight spiders, so I decided to test my training and step into the fray for once. What happened next was so quick, but I still remember every second that passed.

    I stepped forward, and laid a solid blow between it's eyes. It, in turn, stabbed me with both of it's front legs, and ripped them off of it's own body, leaving them impaling me through the chest!

    I tried to drag myself to safety as I heard the cries of the defenders beside me, calling for a healer to attend me.

    I fell face down in a pool of my own blood, too weak to even stand. Then, everything went black.

    I don't remember what happened after that, the priests of my people tell me that we go to a place with silvery sand called the Fugue, and that our gods turn up to collect us if it's our time. I don't remember anything about sand, or the gods turning up, but I do remember waking up naked at the healers, with a concerned face looking over me.

    I've never felt so weak in my entire life as that day. It was like a part of my soul had been ripped out in exchange for my return to the living. She gave me back all my things, and I received a payment of five hundred gold for my efforts.

    Now I know the meaning of the term Blood Money.


  • The First of Mirtul, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Raining

    I've been out training with Miss Marty. She's been wanting to collect larger hides for a while now, and so together we made our way to the Gypsy Woods. Not sure if that's what they're actually called, but that's what I'm calling them.

    When we got there, I found out that the woods is infested with giant spiders of all kinds. Some that use webs to catch their prey, others that jump on you and try to poison you, and even some that carry their young in their bodies, so that when they die the hatchlings explode out like something in a nightmare!

    We worked our way through the first lot, and went deeper, only to find that the spiders here were tougher, and they had these weird things called ettercaps with them. Some of the spiders use webs to slow you down, hurl their gooey silk at you to try and hold you in place, and then drain your life away! Others do some kind of poison spew attack that can daze you…

    This woods is weird.

    Anyway, we killed the spiders and continued on, eventually making our way to what Miss Marty calls "the Cat Cave". Inside were all kinds of large cats, cougars, crag cats, and these weird kinda demonic ones called Krenshar, that roll the skin on their face back and try to freak you out so you run away.

    Well, no hin monk is going to run from something like that, although it really is very, very freaky. We collected the hides Miss Marty wanted, and I got to find water in the caves in large, clean pools. It reflected the light very clearly, and I could see blind fish swimming in it, oblivious to our presence.

    Miss Marty thinks that the water in the caves comes from streams and rivers that make their way into the Underdark and pick up minerals from the rocks they pass over. Whatever the reason, it sure was beautiful.

    After that, we stopped outside to rest for a while, and she told me about the N'Jast war. I'm glad she did, but I'm also very glad I wasn't here for it. The whole thing sounds horrible, like a manufactured nightmare designed to send people mad. She's got her concerns about various people who survived the war, but I think things should be okay now.

    After a night of resting, talking, eating, and sharing our lives, we made our way back through the spiders home. On the way she showed me a magnificent sight; the Cold Caves Falls. Right in the middle of where all the spiders live is a series of waterfalls, four in total, all going down into the Underdark into a place called the Cold Caves.

    I sat there at the top of the waterfalls and meditated for an hour before we continued on. It was a great day, and I definitely want to make that trip again.

    The power of water in nature is truly astounding.


  • The Twentieth of Tarsakh, 1506 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    It's been an interesting tenday, that's for sure.

    It feels like I've been travelling with adventurers nearly constantly, only stopping to sleep and eat when it couldn't be avoided.

    It started for me with a trip into the gnoll woods. They're scary dog like humanoid things, that seem to want to eat adventurers. We journeyed in and took out those who came against us, eventually retreating once we figured we'd outstayed our welcome. From there it was back to Peltarch, sell the loot and split the gold, before a few folks left the party, and a few new ones joined.

    From there we went on to Oscura. It's an underground city where creatures that don't like the light live. Some folks there are evil, apparently, and some are wanted by other towns for various reasons, and some follow evil gods, and then there are some who just live there because they like the space it gives them. Whatever their reason is, I just don't like the place. It creeps me out.

    We moved through the town and out through the western gate. The adventurers wanted to kill some fish-men that they said were called Kuo-tua. Whatever their reasons were didn't really matter to me. I was getting to see something I've never seen before.

    We moved in, and took out fish-men with crossbows, swords, clubs, spells, hammers, and axes. But deep within the caves, something was striking at us in the dark. The others said it was an assassin, I'm not so sure. It could have been some kind of vengeful spirit, out to make us pay for trespassing.

    In any case, I took on myself the job of carrying everything, meaning that by the time we left I was dragging a sack behind me that was twice as big as I am.

    We all got out alive, and that was the main thing for me.

    Again, back to town to sell the loot and split the coin.

    From there, we rested briefly and had a meal. Some folks left, and some more came in. Re-energized we made our way out to the orc plains, and the caves beyond.

    Geez, these adventurers are a bloodthirsty lot.

    Anyway, I took up the role of packhorse again, and stayed at the back to carry everything.

    In, out, everyone's alive, and then back to Peltarch to sell the loot and split the coin.

    Can you sense some kind of pattern here? Don't they ever get tired of this?

    I rested and had another meal, and then there was a crafter who wanted help to go mining, down where the kobolds are. Now, I'd never seen the kobolds here before, so I decided to tag along and see how they were set up.

    We organised a group, and headed south of Peltarch, and then to the west. Kobolds seemed to be running freely when we arrived, but that quickly changed.

    It's things like this that make me glad I'm a traveller, not an adventurer. Not sure how they handle all the blood on their clothes. It's a bugger to get out.

    So we headed into their cave, and took out the few we found. Then, we walked into an area where there were some dead kobolds, just lying on the ground near some mushrooms. And to the north of those, was a group of people wearing black who had set up camp.

    They refused to let us pass without good reason, and the miner who wanted company wouldn't speak up or make a decision either way, as to whether or not we go or stay.

    I got so frustrated with him that after half an hour of him standing there in silence I started a small fire and made some coffee. Just as I was about to pour it out, he decided that we would leave.

    So we went back to town, and he got some more adventurers, and decided to go back and just pay them off to leave.

    They accepted the coin and left, we went through to check the ore, and there was nothing there he wanted. Nothing. Just more kobolds who wanted to kill us for going into their cave.

    What a comedy of errors that was.