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

Marie's Diary - Notes of a travelling hin


  • The Seventh of Alturiak, 1508 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Norwick
    Weather: Raining

    Been so busy this last month with the Sisterhood, recruiting ladies and helping them train, getting them used to working in the Grapevine… and raising coin for our various projects.

    There's a lady who's been joining us on our training runs, but she's not a Sister. Her name's Arlinn. She's a lovely lady, but a little bit unhinged. She assures me that it's the price she has to pay for the power she has, but I worry about her anyway.

    I need to approach her about joining the Sisterhood. She helped us secure the rice for the kitchen, as well as everything else that she's done... she definitely deserves the chance to join.

    Anyway, had a real scare yesterday. I was in the gnoll woods on a training run with Shade, Reriana, Silmiel, Kresha, and Julinda. Arlinn turned up at some point, it's hard to tell because she spends so much time invisible. But I digress.

    We had fought our way through the first section of their woods, and were in the second, tougher section. One of the scythers caught sight of us, and went to engage the others, ignoring me completely. Well, that was her mistake, wasn't it? I jumped up and did a spinning axe kick to the head, knocking it out cold, leaving the others free to pound on it until it died.

    When we found the second scyther, I wasn't so lucky.

    I went to engage it like before, but this one must have noticed what happened to it's cousin, because it went straight for me, and ignored everyone else. The hatred in it's eyes burnt like a flame, trying to vaporise me where I stood. But, I held my ground and took it on.

    Two hits from it started me bleeding, then it brought the scythe around in a massive arc and cut my gut in two.

    Instantly I fell to the ground, my stomach almost falling out the wound as I struggled to hold it and my intestines in as well as stay conscious. Thankfully, one of the ladies managed to get some magical healing into me to close the wound so I could drag myself back away from it's reach.

    Yeah, not a big fan of the scythers now.

    In any case, a few healing magics later and I was back up and on my feet, just about as good as new. Just hope there's no long lasting consequences from taking such a hit.

    We continued on in our training, defeating many gnolls and honing our skills together. We also managed to raise two thousand gold for the new orphanage in the docks district, so all in all it was a good day. Reriana has done so much work with us, helping us all train... she doesn't know I know, but she's given thousands of gold of her own money towards the orphanage. I've put her name up for promotion to Big Sister, I think she deserves it.

    And I have to say, other than the training work we've been doing, and the plague in Peltarch, life has been pretty peaceful for me lately.

    I pray it continues that way.

  • The Halfling Defence League

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  • The First of Hammer, 1508 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: A secret grotto (not telling where!)
    Weather: Pleasantly warm and dry

    It's been nearly six months since I could write in my diary, and so much has happened in that time. After I wrote my last entry, I gave it to Alexi and told him he could read it, that I didn't want any secrets between us. He chuckled a little, but took it and sat there reading it for a while.

    He only gave it back to me today, that cheeky man! And with a picture on the last page that he drew himself… you'll need to flick through to the end if you want to see it.

    Anyway, where to begin...

    I know. Maya left. The lady who had been the head of the Sisterhood in the absence of Miss Nicahh. She made the choice to move on, to start a new chapter in her life. I wish her the best of luck and the best of health, but I will definitely miss her.

    In her place, Miss Marty has been name the new Leader. But... she's away on business... and she doesn't know when she'll be able to return. So... I made the decision to step in for now and run things until she gets back. It's been a lot of hard work, and a lot of time and energy, but I think it's having results. We're up to twelve sisters now, and although I don't see all of them all the time, I know that we're all doing our best for one another.

    I hope Marty comes back soon. I miss her, and I know that she'll do a much better job than I can with the ladies, I've still got so much to learn and so many things to experience before I think I can do the job justice.

    Sister Shade has done so much since she joined... she's even taken the initiative and started a soup kitchen in the Peltarch Docks for the poor and homeless. Everyone's been doing their best to chip and and help, whether it be gathering food, serving in the kitchen itself, or arranging for contracts for the supplies we need. She's also been liasing with the various authorities, and in general, working tirelessly to get things done.

    I have to admit that she makes me feel bad with how hard she works, and how much she gets done. I feel like I'm always trying to catch up with the Grapevine, and to look after the Sisters as they travel around, let alone a new venture like the soup kitchen.

    It would have been four months ago now, when I had the most scary thing in my entire life happen. There was an attack on Peltarch by some troop of kobolds that seemed to be stronger and more powerful than any orc or gnoll I'd seen before, let alone any kobold.

    During the attack I nearly died, so did Alexi.

    Afterwards, he collapsed with exhaustion, his essence drained almost completely. Panicking, I tried to take him to Norwick to the healers, so that he could recover with herbal remedies instead of people trying to use magic on him.

    But Nure wanted to help. And so did Dietrick. So then there are three of us carrying him to the boat. Then some stupid woman cast a healing spell on him, sending him into convulsions.

    We made it to Norwick, albeit barely. I managed to get rid of Dietrick, but Nure just wouldn't leave us alone.

    It took three days for me to bring Alexi back from the brink... but bring him back I did. I have never been so scared in all my life, as when I saw him drifting at death's door. I'm not sure how Senria managed to deal with it, if it happened as often as Alexi says it did in the past.

    And when he came back... I kissed him. I kissed him like I've always wanted to, like I dream about doing. I shouldn't have, but it was all I could do to restrain myself from dragging him off to the inn to keep him to myself for a week.

    At first he was upset, but then he calmed down and realised what had happened. I think he finally understands how I feel about him.

    He and I and Nure celebrated after that, in the Valley. We had some sweet things, and romped around at the edge of the water. Alexi also decided that Nure can be part of the family too, because she cared so much for him that she would stay with him, regardless of what happened.

    So now I have a sister, in two ways. She's a Little Sister in the Sisterhood, as well as being my sister in mine and Alexi's family. But the relationship I have with Alexi is special... something that no-one else has, and that no-one else can share.

    Oh, there was a festival in the Silver Valley too, probably a month after that. I got to run a food and drink stall, so there was lots of cooking and brewing for me... even placed a special order with Damarra for more coffee so I could serve it up there. My food was a big hit! I was able to make over seven hundred coin for the Silver Valley, so I feel like I did well. And there was lots of happy faces, and a lot of kind words said.

    That day I found out that Miss Kresha is a Sister too, as well as a Priestess of Sharess called Silmiel! If ladies keep turning up with robes we'll have an overflowing inn soon! And I think that would be just grand.

    Anyway, after the festival I headed back to the Grapevine to do some paperwork. I was about to get down to it when there was a knock at the door. I opened it, and standing there was one of the Hin Fist Dragoons from the Valley. Turns out that Dietrick kept his word, when he told me that he would arrange for me to spar with one of them.

    Long story short, we went back to the Valley, into the Four Winds Dojo. We faced off against one another, and she ripped me apart.

    I've never met a hin fist monk so strong. Every punch was like a hammer blow into my chest or my head, and her gloves were mighty in their enchantment. At the end of it, I was lying on the mat dazed and confused, and she was standing above me, hardly breaking a sweat.

    I just don't believe how strong she was.

    After the sparring session, Dietrick took me outside and told me that the reason he arranged for the training session was so that he could see if I was as strong as I claimed to be, and that if I was, he would have put me in charge of the Hin Fist Dragoons. But... I failed that test, so for now I would have to train harder and see if I could someday try again.

    Anyway, a week later I was in Peltarch chatting with people when Sister Shade asked me to come with her to negotiate the rice supply contract. Dietrick asked to tag along, and several others came with us, including a nice new tallie called Holli, Arlinn, Nora, and Alexi.

    We got to Oscura, and Sister Shade and I are trying to negotiate for the rice with Yuki, when some sailors nearby start talking about how one of them slit a hin's throat and dumped him overboard. Now, I know that sailors like to talk crap, but it still made my blood boil.

    And here I was, on official guild business. The ONE time I can't do anything about it. The sailors looked like the same ones that were slaving for elves on the Icelace before, so I knew exactly what to look out for, as well as who.

    Dietrick went over to talk to them in his normal manner, at which point I knew that things could go very, very badly. So I tried to ignore the situation as best I could, and yet take in as much information about what they were talking about as I could.

    Yuki told us that the Kuo-tua had stolen a shipment of rice, and that if we could recover it, it would be ours, but in order to arrange for a permanent bulk shipment, I'd need the word of a Blooded to do so.

    I nodded my thanks and moved on, grabbing the others who would come with me, and I let Dietrick know that we were moving on. He wasn't impressed at that, but I don't think he understood why I did what I did at the time.

    Once I had them all out of the district, I went back and continued negotiating, eventually Miss Arlinn told me that she was a Blooded and would give word for us... so we negotiated the rice contract for four thousand, two hundred gold per year, with a fifty pound bag of rice per month.

    Once that was done, we went west, and out the gate into the Underdark, to the lair of the Kuo-tua. Dietrick was devastating in combat, a terror to behold. The others mainly provided ranged support and picked up what trinkets they could find.

    Eventually we got through to the deeper caves, where the tougher ones lived. They seemed to be enjoying their meal of rice when we found them... and they went down very quickly to Dietrick's sword.

    A hundred pounds of rice later, and we were on our way out, when Dietrrick started verbally abusing me, saying how I didn't care about the hin that the soldiers had murdered, that I was a disgrace to the Dragoon name...

    I told him that I did care, and tried to explain why I did what I did, and what I would be doing from here... but he wouldn't listen to me. In the end, I'd had enough of his ramblings and I handed him back my badge, resigning from the HDL

    Well, that set him off. He grabbed me by the throat, and lifted me off the ground, yelling and screaming profanities at me, telling me how I had no honour, and how I was a failure and a disgrace, and a coward. But, I didn't fight him. I didn't try and escape.

    Because I was in the right, not him, and to react how he wants me to, would be to give up my own honour. It would be admitting that he was right. And it would give him no reason to pause and reconsider his actions later.

    Alexi stepped in to try and defend me, so did the others... but Dietrick wouldn't listen to them. Instead, he threw me away from him and punched me until I fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

    And still I did not fight him, or even try to defend myself.

    At that point, the others stepped in, enraged by his actions. I begged them to leave him alone, but they were determined to try and defend me. They fell just as I had.

    At that point, I tried to tell him how far he had fallen, what he had just done. That he had thrown away his honour, for attacking one of his own, without justification, without honour.

    So he hit me again, and again.

    I passed out.

    Later on, I woke up in the Shiney Coppers, with everyone but Dietrick with me. They looked beat up, but at least we were all alive.

    Alexi then told me that I had suffered brain bruising. If he hadn't been there to tend to me straight away, I could have died. The others were furious about what Dietrick had done, and upset at themselves that they were not able to avenge me.

    After a few more days of resting, we made our way out of Oscura. I managed to hobble my way to Kinte, my pony, and headed north to see Sister Shade before I returned to the Grapevine.

    She came out of the city for me, and told me that Dietrick was looking for me.

    So I rode south straight away, and managed to make it to the Grapevine without passing out, praise the gods.

    It must have been hours later when I was woken up by a knock on the door. It was Arlinn. Dietrick had convinced her that he was genuinely sorry for what happened in the Underdark, and that he wanted to apologise.

    I rose, unsteadily, got dressed, and went down to see him. I might not like the man, or trust him, but I will at least hear him out, I thought to myself.

    He asked if we could speak in private, to which I agreed.

    So we went up to one of the meeting rooms, and he told me that he had failed in his duty, in his honour. And that he needed to atone for it, in the only way he knew how.

    So he took off his breastplate, and took out four daggers. He then proceeded to stab himself with them, one at a time, and then to leave them in his chest.

    Each dagger was for one of the ways that he had failed.

    We talked a bit then, and I made him understand why I acted in the way I did, from when we first heard the sailors, to when he had me on the ground, beating on me whilst I refused to defend myself. I told him he was like a weapon, without a purpose, with a will to guide it and the discernment to know friend from foe.

    And he agreed with me, and told me that he was a poor leader, and a poor captain.

    In the end, I agreed to his request, to train him in discernment and wisdom, and how to see the truth in a situation. So that he can be a better leader. And so that things like this won't happen again.

    I took back my badge, and I took back my position. And we parted on amicable terms.

    It's going to take a lot for me to trust him fully again, and I'm not sure if the pain from what happened will ever pass, to be so misjudged by my superior and to be nearly killed because he can't control himself…

    After that, I rested for a week to recover from my wounds, and then I made the trip home in secret, with Alexi. Our friend mage sent us there, and gave us a token to use when we wish to return.

    I don't want to go into too much detail now... the memory is still too close and too painful. But, I will say this. I went through the testing, to confirm that my training was complete, and I passed. But they refused my service. The elders told me that I was too weak to serve, and that I was free to come or go as I chose, but my place was not here, defending the village. And my parents turned away from me.

    So we returned home. Maybe another time I'll write about what happened there in full... but for the moment I think I need to let it rest.

    Since then I've spent a little time training Dietrick, and getting to know him better. He's a hard one to understand... because he doesn't think like a hin at all. He tells me that's because he only found out he was a hin when he got to this realm, that he never knew his real family.

    We talked for hours and hours, out on the island in the middle of the lake in the Rawlins. Not what I would have called the best spot to perch, but I guess any port in a storm will do.

    Alexi keeps poking me, saying that he'll be amused if Dietrick and I become a couple... but I can't see that ever happening. I think I would rather choke to death on my own tongue than have him as my husband.

    Since then I've been spending time with Alexi, just the two of us alone. It's been months since we've been able to do that, we didn't even get the chance when we were away together.

    He's laying beside me as I write this, relaxing with his head on my lap. He wanted to bring me to this grotto, to show me how beautiful it is, to share it with me. I'm glad that few people know about it, it keeps it special, and private.

    We talked a lot today, about all kinds of things. Family, friends, other people that we meet...

    We played a lot too. To be able to relax and be myself, away from prying eyes, is a pleasure I get all too rarely nowadays. I know Alexi feels the same way, and to be able to be ourselves together is just so very, very special.

    We also talked a little about Senria again. He still pines for her... but no-one's heard from her, or seen her in a while now. I hope she's okay... it would break his heart if something has happened to her. He even said that if Senria comes back, and she's willing to, that we could share him. I'm not sure if he was joking or not, but I have to say that if I was offered that option, I think I'd take it over not having him at all.

    Ah, the things we do for love.


  • The Seventh of Flamerule, 1507 by Dale Reckoning

    Location: Peltarch
    Weather: Raining

    Today was a good day. I'm still not sure where things will go in the future, but Alexi and I had a good talk, down on the beach on the edge of the Icelace.

    I apologised to him for what I had said when I broke down, and he told me that it was okay, that he prefers total honesty between the two of us.

    So, I told him everything. Everything.

    I've never felt this way about anyone before. He's a good man, but more than that, he's a kind man. Even though his burdens are greater than mine, he still cares deeply for me. Even though he is still married, he loves me and does so in a way that means he stays true to her.

    I'm not sure if I can continue with my training. I'm not sure if I'll be able to return when my family sends for me. I'm not sure about anything anymore except for one thing.

    I love him. There, I said it. I love him like I've never loved anyone before, like I never thought I could love anyone. It's like a flame inside me, burning me up, muddling my thoughts and controlling me. That part of me that was supposed to die when I defeated her with Master Dwarf, she is inside me now and is loving every second of it.

    I want to be with him, more than I have ever wanted anything in my entire life.

    But, he says that he loves me as much as he loves Senria, and as much as he loves the rest of his family. Just that he won't bed me. And that's okay, I'm not even sure how that would work, or if it could work without magics.

    He's promised to never leave me, to stay by my side always. And for now, I'm happy with that. I've told him that one day I want to have kids, I want to have a home with him, and I want to be with him forever.

    But, his service to his people comes ahead of what he wants for himself. And he's married to Senria. And I have my service to my people as well.

    Why must everything be so complicated? No one knows what the future holds, so I'll take what I have now, and be grateful. But I hope, and I pray, with every ounce of my being, that one day we will have a home together.

    In public though, we need to watch our actions. Others don't understand him, and why he does things the way he does. And almost no-one would understand the way we feel about one another. Everything that we have worked for individually could be thrown away because of this.

    It feels like whenever we're trying to spend time together talking, others just walk up and invite themselves into the conversation. Darius even walked up and sat down at the table with us yesterday when we were having a quiet breakfast together. He didn't ask, he just sat down and interrupted what we were doing. And then Julinda did the same!

    Realising that any hope I had for privacy with him was now lost for the day, so I excused myself and headed south to spend time with the Sisters, to try and lose myself in the monotony of the work.

    But for now, I feel complete. And that is worth everything to me.


  • 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.