Tomb's Journal

A meta recording of the inner monologue of Tomb detailing his journey so far.

Fallin' Outta the Sky

First Entry:

Went to check out the lights Aerdrie says she saw in the woods. World went weird. Then I fell outta the sky into the sea. No idea where I am. Saw a guy in a boat. Damned if I need rescuin’. Decide to swim to shore. Good waters, deep and still. I’d like to swim here again. Guy in the boat asks me how I got here. Like I know! Probably Wizards. Boat guy, Retja, takes me to the Moonspeaker. Hope to get some answers. Moonspeaker wants somethin’. Moonspeakers like pots don’t they? They’re always brewin’ somethin’. Looks like I’ve somethin’ important to do but for now I got to make myself useful. Gonna look for someone to hit.

Retja says Frogmen are threatenin’ the people. Somthin’ I can help with. Me, one of them big furry forest guys an’ a coupla tiny folk take a boat out to an island to hunt us some frogs. Swampy place, hard going. Can’t find ‘em. Find a crop of Sea Nomad treasure ready to harvest. Just follow the skulls. Froggy bastards jump out on us. Try to bite me. Lil’ Gnome guy, Oswlen, uses some Wizardy magic to put one to sleep. The forest guy, Norlen, shoots one in the leg. I kill two of ‘em. Then this crazy Kobold, Keth’nell, up an heals one an’ tells me to stop fightin’. So confused. We tie up the two that are left. Take ‘em to the Moonspeaker. Still confused.

Frog Hunt 2: Frog Harder

Second Entry:

Settlin’ in to the village. Good swimmin’. Helpin’ to carry logs. Someone followin’ me. Gonna go bad for them if they try anythin’. Another little Kobold, Zoks, hope this one ain’t crazy too. Take him to the Moonspeaker. Few more folks arrived. A lady, a hunter by the way she moves, Anna. A little lady, Halfling I reckon, Lilly. Dang it! A Bard, Geoffrey or somethin’... I don’t care. Moonspeaker does her thing. Same path as us it looks like. Hope they might help with the frogs so I go with them to see Retja. Startin’ to wonder about him. Always Braggin’.

Back to the swamp. Too deep for the little ones. Offer to carry ‘em. Still can’t find any damned frogs. Find two Humans instead. Sea Nomads, shipwrecked an’ sick. These guys ain’t got no idea what they’re doin’. Gonna have to get ‘em safe. Damned frogs get the drop on us again! How the hell are they doin’ that? Big fight. Still got the little ones on my shoulders. No time to set ‘em down, no safe place. I swing at the frogs but I don’t get no hits. Anna stands her ground like a warrior and starts loosin’ arrows. Geoffrey tries to back away, next thing I know he’s on the ground. What’d we bring him for anyways? Lilly hops down an’ disappears. Keeps poppin’ out from behind me an’ stickin’ the frogs with a knife. That’s so cool. Zoks stays put an’ casts some sorta spell. Don’t know what it was but he was takin’ hits bad. Manages to get away in the end an’ goes to help Geoffrey. Two frogs go down, the other two swim away. Still ain’t got 'em all! Least we didn’t keep any this time. Sea Nomad guys tell us where there is another treasure. We go an’ get it. Take the treasure and the two guys back to the village. Sounds like they had a good reason to leave even if their plan was dumb.

 Autumnal Equinox

Third Entry:

Equinox. The Veil is thin. The Spirits are walkin’ and the people must remember. This is important. Festival time in the village. We got a big part to play. We need to hunt the land and the sea. Then there’s a ritual to perform. Moonspeaker says we’ve got to get this right. I’ll play my part.

I get to hunt the sea. I’d be more use on land but I don’t argue. Goin’ to sail out with Retja. He’s braggin’ again. That damn Bard’s playin’ some sorta tune. Not what I call music. Huntin’ some sorta shark. A big one. Damn fool Retja fed his own son to a shark! How dumb can you get. You protect the children. That’s what Warriors are for, dang it! You face the monsters so they don’t have to. Can’t find the words for so much shame. So we got spears, an’ rope. Someone goes in the water - Bait. Spears thrown, we drag the beast to the boat. Then we kill it. Simple plan, I like it. Don’t know which job to take. Want to keep people safe. I can take a hit, should be me in the water. But Retja says it’s a bad omen if we fail, and we fail if the shark gets away. They need my strength on the ropes. Norlen volunteers for bait. Real brave, gotta respect that. Keth’nell’s got some crazy plan she’s real excited about. Just leave her to it. The Bard’s gonna take the other rope. Guess it’s all on me then.

Norlen gets cut and goes in the water. I get ready with the spear. See the shark and take the shot. Got it good, hold on fast. Bard misses, no surprise. I haul on the rope and start reelin’ it in. It ain’t gettin’ away from me. Norlen gets hurt bad. Tries to get away. Spirits know what Keth’nell’s up to. Bard pulls out a bow, might actually do something useful for a change. Damn Retja’s just sittin’ there in the back of the boat. Like he’s out for a day cruise. I keep haulin’ the shark in. Get it right up to the boat. Damn thing charges the boat and I nearly lose it. Manage to stop it from gettin’ away and the others kill it. We take it back to the village. Retja makes out like he done all the work. Really startin’ to get me mad.

Next we gotta do some pageantry. Some of us gonna be heroes. Some of us gonna be hags. I get to be a hag. Gotta be fearsome. Stalk the streets. Spread fear. Then we fight. Moonspeaker says the hags are gonna lose. I’ll play my part. I cover myself in dark mud an’ rags. Tonight I am Sceadugengan. The shadow-goer. I make myself as big as I can. Stamp my feet. Roar. Charge down the street. Sometimes I hide in the shadows and leap out. They never see me ’til I jump. Then the streets clear for the ritual. I look about for somebody to fight. I can feel the Spirits stirrin’. The Moonmaiden’s gaze falls upon me. I know what I’ve gotta do. I Climb the tallest building. Throw back my head an’ roar. Here stands the shadow-goer! Moonlight covers me. My enemy comes. I know it but I don’t react. It’s Lilly. Wily little thing manages to trip me. The shadow-goer is banished. As it should be. I fall from the roof and roll, landin’ safe. The hags lose, as the people remember.

I go an’ throw myself in the sea to get washed off. Then head back for the feast. The rites have been performed. The Spirits settle. Gonna sleep well tonight.

 Frog? Hunt?

Fourth Entry:

Got to get the Bullywugs off the island near the village. Can’t have a threat sittin’ that close. Go to try and get a team together. Need a hunter if nothin’ else. Most everyone is gone. Can only find Norlen an’ that damn Bard… Gordon? … Whatever. Got a hunter at least. We go to see the Moonspeaker. Get her blessin’. See if she has had any luck speakin’ to the Bullywugs we caught last time. No good it seems. She tells us that they’re in cages by the forge. There ain’t no point to this. But I wanna see the forge so I go anyway.

These Bullywugs don’t speak common an’ nobody knows the spell for talkin’ so we ain’t goin’ to get much. Gordon’s gonna try anyway. I leave him an’ Norlen to it while I go check out the forge. Bit basic, but it’ll do. Hope I can get to use it at some point. All the Bullywugs had to say was ‘Slaaaad’. That’s real useful. Looks like nobody been feedin’ these guys. Knew it was a mistake to bring ‘em here. Don’t know what to do 'bout it. Can’t let ‘em starve though.

Next we need to get a boat. That means Retja. I’m regretting this already. He’s at home with his kids. Little girl keeps starin’ at me like I’m some sorta demon. I ain’t used to kids, how do I stop her doin’ that? Drinks being passed ‘round. Might as well. Ain’t goin’ nowhere fast. Gettin’ fed up now.

Finally settin’ off, ‘bout time. Back to rowin’. Damn Bard’s singin’ again. Only this time he’s singin’ to give me orders. Like he thinks he’s better’n me. Let him know what I think of that bullshit by throwin’ somethin’ at him. Get into the rowin’, lose track of time. Looks like we’re goin’ somewhere further away than what I was intendin’. Now I’m confused.

Make landfall on an Island I ain’t seen before. But I get a feelin’ like I know it. Spirit’s feel calm here. Someone has raised a totem. One of my people. The mark of the Moonmaiden, the words of the Moonspeakers and images of the animal spirits. A waymarker. We set up camp ‘round the totem. Build myself a bivouac among the trees. Lay up for the night. Visitor while I sleep, nobody bothered to wake me. A Druid. Get woken up for my watch. Keep myself movin’ while I keep watch. Jog through the trees. See a bunch of little lights flyin’ in from the bay, dozens of ‘em. Weird.

Dawn comes. Whole mess of Bullywug bits round the totem. Oswlen seemed to like eatin’ these things. Grab myself a spear, might be handy. Take a leg back to camp and offer to the others. Nobody keen, must be a Gnome thing. Try to look for tracks to follow, no good. Bard spots a skull in a tree, at least he’s good for somethin’. Dig up the treasure. What in the hells are we meant to do now?

 Shit Goes Boom

Fifth Entry:

Sat on the island tryin’ to figure what to do next. Bright light on the horizon. Somethin’ big exploded. Retja says only thing out there is the old ship. Where the Moonspeaker said the others had gone. Reckon they’re probably dead. Gotta go, just in case. Roll up bedroll and kick over bivouac. Ready to go.

We get in the boat and go. Gordon starts lookin’ like he’s goin’ to start up again. No patience for that bullshit today. Get to rowin’. It’s all gettin’ weird out here. Blue motes of light rainin’ from the sky. We’re makin’ good time. Pushin’ the pace. Next thing we know there’s a wall of water headin’ our way. Retja yells to brace. He ain’t no use in a fight but he knows how to sail… right? Water hits the boat and flips us over. We all fall out. Guess he’s useless at sailin’ too.

Find the surface and start headin’ for the boat. Really pissed off with Retja. See them blue lights again, same as last night. Some split off and head for us. They’re tiny spirits, little warriors with bows. Start loosin’ arrows, but not at us. Damn Bullywugs got us again. In the water round us. One hits Retja real bad. I ain’t gonna be the one to tell his kids I watched him get ate by a Bullywug. So I smash it’s head in. Useless bastard ain’t even humble enough to be grateful. Look ‘round for more. One on the surface. Smash that one too. We make it to the boat. Little spirit warriors come and join us. Gordon starts talkin’ to them in some language I ain’t ever heard before. Then Norlen starts talkin’ in elf. Nobody bothers to tell me what’s goin’ on though. Why bother anyway? I’m just a guy with a hammer. Don’t matter what I think. I miss Aerdrie. She never treated me like this. Always let me know what was goin’ on. Made sure I knew the plan. How’m I supposed to get it right if I don’t know the plan? Shoulda stayed in the village. Little spirit fellers disappear. Don’t know why. Then we get to rightin’ the boat. I done this before so I know how. Good job too, don’t trust Retja to know no more.

Masts gone. Most of the oars too. Use my shovel as a paddle. We row for the nearest island. Any idiot can make oars if there’s wood, even Retja. Fix ourselves up so we can get home. We get to the island. Everybody’s there. All safe and sound. So relieved. Anna, Lilly, Oswlen, even that crazy Kobold. They found someone new. A boy with blue skin. Ain’t never seen one like him before. Anna an’ Lilly catch me up on things and tell me what’s goin’ on. Anna seems upset about it though. Thinkin’ she blames herself. She shouldn’t. Gonna try an’ say somethin’ to her about it, just got to work out what. Goin’ to have to have a word with Retja too.

 So I Guess I’m a Bear Now

Sixth Entry:

Went to check out the new hall. Them fellers from the island built it. Imham and Bukan, the Sea Nomads. Real sweet of ‘em. Not like we did much. They put in some trainin’ stuff, way better’n logs. That damn Bard starts up his noise again. Just plug my ears up an’ carry on trainin’. Zoks’ is back! Thank the Spirits! Was worried about him out there all on his own. Bought some music with him, much more like it. Damn Bard tries to steal that too, typical. Zoks’ been speakin’ to a guy called Otzi, seems he might know more about this town to the North. More my style than islands and boats. Looks like we’re headin’ North to check things out.

So we head out. Me, Norlen, Zoks, Oswlen and… Gary? Oswlen wants to ride on the Llama from the village. I reckon I got the hang of that ritual the old Moonspeaker taught me now. I give it a go an’ ask the Llama if he wants to go along, looks like he’s up for it. After a while we got two paths. Through the woods or along the shore. Woods means good huntin’ an’ shelter. Aerdrie always takes the woods. The others all want to follow the shore. Fair enough.

We come across a whole mess of hogs. Seems we want to catch ‘em all. No idea why. Can’t eat ‘em all, can’t carry ‘em all. Sounds like a waste to me. One will do. In the end we only gets one. As it should be. We’re gonna take it for Otzi as an offering. That’s a good plan.

Eventually we catch up to Otzi. There with his daughter, Aurelitz. He got some pups! He uses some greetin’ I don’t know but I’m distracted now. Gotta pet the pups. Otzi seems a good guy, makes us welcome. Somethin’ about him an’ his daughter seems familiar, can’t put my finger on it. Ain’t never met them before. This is turnin’ into a good night. Ale, roast hog an’ pups to play with. Looks like Otzi gonna take us North to Fuall.

Had my mornin’ swim an’ Aurelitz noticed my tattoo with the scar through it. Had lots of questions about that. Didn’t think it was that interestin’. Funny though, ain’t really felt the same since I got that scar. She reckon’s she can put it right. I’d like that. Lot of memories tied to that tattoo. Powerful memories. Times of change. Got to wait ’til twilight though. That feels right. Under the wakin’ eyes of the Moonmaiden. Hurts more than it did the first time. Ain’t nothin’ I can’t take though. Don’t remember her finishin’ but next thing I know I’m wakin’ up in Norlen’s arms. No idea how I got there. Sounds like everybody been seein’ bears. Oswlen looks about ready to bolt. Zoks is lookin’ at me all concerned. Gary’s so wrapped up in himself he ain’t seen nothin’, no surprise there. Otzi looks troubled, like he knows somethin’. I go an’ ask him what could have made everybody see bears. Now things get real confusin’. Otzi reckons I ain’t human. Says I’m a Shifter, like him, and that I really did turn into a bear. Somethin’ about the tattoo makin’ it happen. He says it will happen again if I get hurt too bad. This is real weird. I think of other times when things have happened that I don’t remember. When the world has turned red. And I’ve woke up not knowin’ what happened. Looks like I finally know why. So that’s how I beat that old bastard. Damn it. How in the hells did this happen to me?

Woke up and the camp feels tense. Norlen’s still bein’ friendly. Glad of that. He’s a good guy, good to have as a friend. Zoks looks troubled, frettin’ and fussin’, he’s got a good heart. Oswlen looks like he ain’t had a lick of sleep all night. That’s a shame but I’m used to it. Better to be feared than to be prey. People keepin’ their distance from me, an’ from Otzi too. We carry on North. We find an’ old tower of some kind. Good steel, plenty of it. No time to strip it though, an’ no way to carry it all. It’s a pity. See signs of the Hill Giant havin’ passed by. Not somethin’ we want to meet. If I had a dozen warriors with longbows I reckon we could take it down. But there’s only us six. I don’t know how well Otzi fights. Oswlen looks jumpy an’ Gary is worse than useless. Don’t fancy our chances. Better to sneak by and come back with more strength. I try an’ talk to Otzi again about this bear business, I still don’t get it. He says he will explain it when we get back to Darétik. Says he can teach me to control it. I sure hope so.

A long time later we find another tower. Same as the last one. We can see Fuall from the top. More like home than Darétik. Long halls behind solid walls. Otzi seems to think I ought to know somethin’ ‘bout it but I’m sure I ain’t never seen the place before. No smoke, that’s weird. We decide to camp out by the tower then Otzi’s gonna head back an’ we’re goin’ on to the town. Middle of the night I get woke up by a demon screech. Damn great big Owlbear tearin’ a chunk out of Norlen. I ain’t lettin’ that happen. I run in and smack it round the head with my maul. Feelin’ the power tonight. Zoks’ runs in to stand beside Norlen an’ me. A battle line. Now we’re talkin’. Magic shoots past me. Smells of Wizard, I don’t like it. Seems to hurt the Owlbear though. Norlen stands his ground an’ hits the Owlbear. It turns to run, this meal ain’t worth the hurt. We all swing for it as it runs an’ I crack it in the spine. Down it goes. Another beast of power. I will add its feathers to my totem and honour its spirit. Norlen’s alright an’ nobody else got hurt. That went as well as it could have. The Moonmaiden was watching over us tonight.

 Overgrown Cart-Track to Hell

Seventh Entry:

Got as good a nights sleep as we could. Woke up feelin’ strong. Good to be out in the wild. Good to be doin’ somethin’. We decide to do some scoutin’ ahead. Gary’s got a magic bird, a hawk, says it can scout for him. That’s Wizard magic, ain’t no mistakin’. Knew I shouldn’t trust that guy. Lookin’ like the town is still goin’ after all. Seen smoke and people on the walls, but only women. An’ there’s someone out alone. Lurkin’ outside the walls. Then we waste a whole lotta time playin’ guessin’ games. What if? What if? What the hells can one guy do to us anyways? Eventually we get goin’, off to find this lone ranger.

After a while we spots him. Some sorta lizard guy. Not like them ones with the frills. Ain’t seen one like him before. He’s runnin’ away from an Owlbear. Smart when you’re alone. Big, mean, fluffy bastards. I sets off runnin’. Try an’ get to him before the Owlbear gets him. He ducks ‘round a tree for some cover, smart. Owlbear still rakes him good though. Then he up an’ breathes fire on it! Now that is cool! Takes us too long to get into range. Oswlen starts howlin’ for some reason? Magic an’ arrows fly past me. Too late, the Owlbear knocks him to the ground. Norlen nets the beast for a hot second but it breaks loose real quick. Then it’s off an’ runnin’ away. I reach the guy an’ try an’ patch him up but I ain’t never seen his kind, don’t know what to do. Gary catches up an’ heals him. Good to know he’s good for somethin’. Oswlen rides up lookin’ all sick an’ sore an’ covered up with vomit. Need to get him doin’ more exercise, poor guy’s got no constitution at all.

Lizard guy says his name is Krexis an’ he’s a Dragonborn. Came here with his brother lookin’ for his other brother, but then they got separated. Tells us he ain’t been in the town but he’s seen it up close. Only seen women, no men. Just the one guy who went in, an’ they made him wear a blindfold and some bells. Sounds weird. He wants to go in, safer if he goes with us. We waste even more time on the What If’s. All too scared to approach a town. Like that’s ever gonna work. You never know what’s comin’ till you get there. Best to just face it. ‘Stead of just standin’ round guessin’. Feelin’ like just startin’ to walk an’ hope they follow. Then they finally decide on a real weird plan. Oswlen an’ Norlen use magic to make themselves look like women an’ off they go to check things out. What in the hells are they doin’ that for? They take Gary’s bird to signal us when they’re done.

Gary’s bird comes back. I’m done with this bullshit so I start walkin’. Catch up to the others stood talkin’ to the gate guard. Says her name is A Duck in Mud or somethin’? Sounds like one of them cat people names. Reckon I heard it wrong. She’s sellin’ this place real hard, reckon she’s keen to get us in. Real suspicious. Calls the place a city. Says they got themselves a Queen. We got to wear a blindfold unless we’re inside an’ someone in charge says we can take ‘em off. So we don’t look upon the Queen. An’ we got to wear bells so’s people know where we are. Sounds dumb an’ I hate it. Then she says it’s nearly all women in there. No men, only the Queen’s guard an’ some scholars. This place sucks. Get some supplies and move on. Think this woman’s hittin’ on me now, that’s all I need on top of everythin’ else. At least I get a pretty blindfold out of it.

She leads us blindfold through the town. Folks here seem to speak common. Big relief for me. We ends up at the house of her mother, Gazam. She seems nice enough. Fixes us some food. Says she has travelled to Darétik in her time. Met that useless bastard Retja and the son he fed to a shark. Sounds like his wife was the one with the brains and the skills, figures. Then we gets to hearin’ more about this place. We really have landed up in hell here. Sounds like this Queen is some kinda demon-critter. Turns folks to stone. Shit. Every male child born gets presented to her, the few who pass muster she keeps for her own, those who don’t gets turned to stone. How could anyone do that? How could anyone stand by an’ let that happen? Have these people got no Honour? Then it turns out the women folk gets turned to stone too when they gets old. And they’re happy about it? Town’s full of crazy. All hearts of stone, stone without spirit. Dead inside. The roots of the mountain run deep, it’s spirit is ancient and strong. But people ain’t like stone and they were never meant to be. To be stone is to stop bein’ people, sure as dyin’. We need to be leavin’ as soon as we can.

Headin’ to the market today. Good, that’s all I want from this place. Need a few tools. Might be useful. Seems we got to blacken our weapons cause their hells-queen don’t like shiny things. I blacken my maul and my spear an’ javelin tips with soot. I ain’t gonna mention the little axes in my pack, or my shovel neither. See if I gets a chance to polish ‘em up at some point. The market seems busy. People here are doin’ well for trade. Got myself a good grapplin’ iron an’ a new crowbar. Aerdrie’ still got my old one. Hells she’s gonna need it without me there. Moonmaiden watch over her. Looks like good steel anyway. Someone kickin’ up a fuss in the market. The guy Krexis saw comin’ in to town gone an’ got himself arrested. Sounds like he broke some laws. Next thing I know there’s bells chimin’ and I’m bein’ told to kneel. The hell bitch herself is comin’. Come to carry out the execution. Ruler’s gotta rule I suppose. Still not happy about it. Turns the poor sap to stone right there in the square. We gets taken up to have a closer look. Subtle, even I can see through that one. Told to take off the blindfold but I ain’t trustin’ these folks. They said only inside and I ain’t takin’ no chances. Now we’re told to break bits off him to give to the queen as tribute when we meet her. Shit. I’m gonna do what I need to do to get out of here in one piece. I ain’t lookin’ to ingratiate myself. I won’t be back. Much as I feel like smashin’ somethin’ I ain’t interested in no power plays either. We all just turn and walk away.

Another night at Gazam’s house. More crazy talk. Don’t think any of us are happy bein’ here. Little girl goin’ on about gettin’ herself a braid. Like she’s any right to it. Like she’s done anythin’ to earn it. There ain’t no warriors here. None of these people even know what it means. They’re barely people at all. They are Draugar, the dead that walk. They have forgotten what it means to be people. For a woman to give up her own flesh and blood, gladly an’ without a fight, to be slaughtered. I ain’t never known the like. It’s a heartbreakin’ thing to think on.

Next day an’ we’re off for our audience with the beast at the heart of this hell. More blinfolded guidin’ through the streets. Now we gotta choose. We kneel or we take our blindfolds off and look upon her. Just how dumb do they think we are? Like we ain’t worked out how this works yet. She says we gotta look upon her to prove ourselves worthy. I already know I’m worthy. I don’t need to prove a damned thing. ‘Specially not to her. Why would I want to prove myself to a child murderin’ monster? Startin’ to get real pissed off with the whole thing. Just wanna take my Maul and hammer her into the ground. She goes on and on with the power plays and the subtle threats. Seems she knows my people somehow. Says she knows what I am. Wants me to stay and do some breedin’. Even if I wanted to do anythin’ like that I ain’t givin’ no monster a way to get an army of women who can turn into bears. That’s crazy talk. She asks me why I’m here with these people. Can’t say I know why. Why have we stayed so long, why didn’t we leave before this meetin’? Why didn’t I leave with these people instead of stayin’. She claims to know the Moonspeaker. Says they want the same thing but they ain’t friends. Says we oughta work for her instead. Then she says she wants two things from us. To show our good faith. We gotta bring her a male child, less than 5 years old. Like hell I’m gonna do that. I’d sooner cut my own damn head off. If we do that we gets the honour of livin’ in this hell. Also, she wants us to bring her the Hill Giant. She wants him delivered alive. Maybe she’d like the ocean too. This will buy us some favour but not a place by her side. Just tryin’ not to lose it by now. Maybe we could kill her, maybe we couldn’t. But there’s no way we’re makin’ it out of here alive if we do. This ain’t worth dyin’ for. And I sure ain’t lookin’ to take the others with me. So I hold my tongue and stay my hand. Krexis on the other hand gives that bitch an earful. Lays into her good. I’m really startin’ to like this guy. If the guards come for him, we stand together. Almost disappointed when they don’t. We all stand and get led back to Gazam’s.

 Fualls Rush in Where Llama’s Fear to Tread

Eighth Entry:

I hate this town. I really hate it. I hate bein’ here. I hate everythin’ ‘bout it. I ain’t got the words to express how much I hate it. If I was thinkin’ to create my own special hell this would be it. I just want out. Sooner the better. Locked up in here. Trapped. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to swim. No jobs to be done. Nothin’ to lift even. Led round on a tether like some big dog. Blinded and ringin’. Or sittin’ round the house. And everywhere I go the hunger. The hunger of the Drauger. Empty eyes an’ false smiles. Like they want to reach out an’ take my soul away. Like they know what they’ve lost and now they aim to take mine. Actin’ like they got all the answers and that their’s is the only way when all they are is hollow. Always singin’ the praises of that demon-critter Queen of theirs. The spirits here are quiet. I can’t hear ‘em. Scared away most like. Chased off by the screamin’ of lost souls circlin’ the walls. This town is a wound. A sore upon the Great Spirit. It needs to fall. It must be cleansed. I hope one day I can make that happen. ‘Till then all I wanna do is get out.

We’re settin’ down for the night. Not that there’s much point. Can’t barely sleep here. Stuck in this stuffy little hole of a buildin’. Walls closin’ in. Dreams full of screams of children. Tears unheard. Loss unmourned. Dark an’ alone. I look to the Moonmaiden but all I see is thatch. Thought drifts. Lost. All Lost. Hungry eyes in darkness. Wake up to the sound of voices. Krexis an’ a woman I don’t know, talkin’ through the window. What the hells goin’ on now?

Some girl we ain’t met before. Wants to meet us in secret. We haul her in through the window. Don’t catch her name. Chloe? Clari? Why do these folks never have names anybody can pronounce? We all introduce ourselves. Ah Shit! The damn Bard’s name is Gideon! I been gettin’ his name wrong all this time. Thought it was Gilderoy or somethin’. Never mind. Still can’t stand him. The girl says she wants out. Wants to go an’ see the world. Says she’s lookin’ for someone to take her away. Seems if you ask to leave the demon-critter’ll let you, but it brings dishonour to your family. Hah! Like these damned Drauger know what Honour even is. If she just up an’ disappears then her family don’t get no blame. An’ she can’t come back in any case. She tells us that she got a brother an’ that he’s one of the ‘sons’ of the demon-critter. He told her there’s a tunnel goes under the town. You can get in down the well. Seems the sons use it to get in and out of the town so they can fetch stuff. The path follows an underground stream, supplies the towns water. Either we gotta meet her outside the town an’ guide her someplace or we got to leave down the well when she does. I ain’t sure ‘bout this. Anybody want’s outta this hell I’m willin’ to help. An’ I can understand wantin’ to leave. But she still believes in this demon-critter. She still thinks this is all alright. She just wants to see more. She’s just a dumb kid don’t know what she really wants. She wants what she thinks is out there but she don’t know what its really like. Is it right to help her? Does it matter why she wants to leave? I just plain don’t know. I like the idea of sneakin’ out in any case. Put that damned demon-critter’s snakey nose outta joint. An’ if this is a trap I might get to smash my way outta here. I feel a powerful need to break somethin’ before I go. Worried about the llama though. She can’t climb down no well an’ I don’t wanna leave her behind. We agree to either meet her by the well or send her a message before we go.

Last day here. At damned last. Thought of somethin’ I can get from the market. Don’t wanna stay in anyways. If walkin’ is all I’m gonna get I ain’t missin’ out on it. Head down to the shops. Got myself some climbin’ gear. I reckon as I’m the only one any good at climbin’ I might as well be as good at it as I can be so’s I can help the others out. Krexis gets some better armour. Smart thing to do. Wish the others would do the same. Gideon buys some Wizardy scrolls. Damned suspicious. Oswlen gets some magic potion he reckon’s will help us get the llama out. Glad to hear it. Then he starts hittin’ on the shop keeper. Least someone’s havin’ fun round here. Norlen hasn’t come with us, he’s gone to talk to the demon-critter. Like it’s gonna do any good. She’s broken in the head. Ain’t no reason in her, only hate.

Back to our cage. Düktar wants to know how our stay has been. I ain’t gonna lie, it’s been hell. Damned woman starts pawin’ at me again. Wish she’d quit doin’ that. The others reckon I’m only sore ‘cause I ain’t got to fight nothin’. Shows what they know. If I could get a word in edgeways they might know better but they don’t wanna listen to me. Always the same. She offers to spar with me. Damn stupid idea. She says she reckon’s I’m scared. If she was a Warrior I might have had to take offence at that. But the words of Drauger ain’t worth shit. They tempt us to do wrong, to damn ourselves so we might be like them. Such words should be ignored. They pass round some liquor an’ she asks me about my people. I can tell she don’t really care. She don’t want to know. I want to tell her that my people are happy. That they live in comfort as she does. That they live that way in part ‘cause of me. That what their demon-critter has done I too have done. But that all I asked for in return was that my people took what I gave ‘em an’ used it well. That they lived the best lives that they could. That none of them should ever have to bow down to anyone, least of all me. And they have done that. They have built good lives for themselves with their own sweat and their own blood. But she ain’t listenin’ to me either. To hell with her then.

What the hell? That damned Gideon just up an’ admits to bein’ a Wizard! What the hell’s goin’ on here? Doesn’t he know that those bastards destroyed the world? Burned the whole damned thing down tryin’ to grab more power for themselves. No one else so much as blinks. Crazy. No idea what’s important and what ain’t. They just ignore this shit all the time. Knew I was right not to trust him.

Next thing we know there’s knockin’ at the door. Somebody bought a baby for Norlen. A gift from the demon-critter. Now I am confused. What the hell? Looks like we got ourselves a baby boy to care for now. This place is nuts.

So next we spend a whole damned lifetime talkin’ as usual. Nonsense about shrinkin’ babies and pretendin’ to be leavin’ when we’ve already gone. Like anythin’s really changed. The plan we had is just as good as it was. Of course Gideon is for takin’ the easy way out. Leave Chloe to die in the tunnels or get eaten by an owlbear. Krexis at least has Honour, says he ain’t goin’ back on his word. Norlen’s most worried ‘bout the baby. I can understand that. Oswlen don’t wanna leave the Llama, which is good. We’re goin’ to need it now in any case. If we’re fixin’ to keep this baby alive. In the end we decide to take the tunnel. ‘Bout damned time.

I cut a loada small strips of cloth off a blanket. Wrap the bell clappers an’ hammer ‘em flat with my smithin’ hammer. They ain’t hearin’ us leavin’. Then Gideon and Oswlen use magic to disguise themselves as Düktar and her daughter. Damned creepy if you ask me. Stealin’ other peoples faces. Oswlen feeds the potion to the llama and it shrinks down to itty bitty size. Aww. An’ I thought it was cute before. I use some rope to tie it to my back so’s I can carry it down the well. Then we put on our blindfolds and head out for a final walk. Nobody sees us. We get to the well. After a few minutes Chloe shows up. Norlen casts a spell lets him summon a fog cloud. Damned useful spell, one of Aerdrie’s favourites. Under the cover of the cloud we slip down the well.

There’s a river down here right enough. A tunnel to follow. Lit by glowin’ lichens and fireflies. I can see well enough but seems like some of the others can’t. Norlen gets out a torch and asks Krexis to light it. Krexis just up an’ breathes on it and it bursts into flames. That’s a cool trick. I take the lead and head off down river. Before too long we comes to a waterfall. Looks to be a good 30’ down to a pool at the bottom. Chloe seems to have been expectin’ this so she doesn’t hesitate an’ over she goes. Didn’t she say her brother said they use this tunnel to go in and out? How exactly do you climb a waterfall? That girl is just plain dumb. So much for her brother’s love. It’s too late for that now though. Looks like I might get to smash somethin’ after all. Gideon goes over an’ then uses some fancy Wizard spell to lower the baby down. That’s pretty handy I suppose. Still don’t trust him though. I don’t wanna risk jumpin’ as I’m carryin’ the llama. Good job I bought some climbing gear. I drive a piton into the wall an’ tie a rope off. Then I climb my way down. Easy. Best exercise I’ve had all week. Gideon uses his magic to untie my rope. Norlen tries to use my piton to climb down the same way I did but he falls off an’ hurts himself. Then Oswlen manages to hurt himself comin’ down too. Shoulda lowered him down with a rope I suppose. Didn’t think of it at the time. Then we set off walkin’ again. After a few miles Norlen hollers that he’s seen somethin’ an’ ducks off behind a rock to shield the baby. Some kinda… big… ‘gator? But with eight legs. Kinda weird lookin’. Whatever it is it’s got ‘Guard Dog’ written all over it. Looks like this is a trap after all. Gideon and Oswlen blast the thing with magic an’ it roars. I run in an’ take a good swing at it but it rushes me at the last second an’ knocks the blow wide. Then things got real weird. I started feelin’ all heavy an’ slow for some reason. Like I was strugglin’ to move. Lost track of what was goin’ on. Next thing I know the damned thing lets out a blood curdlin’ scream an’ drops down dead. The heaviness went away an’ I was just left wonderin’ what the hell had just happened. Everyone starts takin’ souvenirs from the damned thing. Gets myself a tooth for my totem. When everyone’s done I crush it’s skull. Let that demon-critter know we ain’t to be messed with. Chloe’s all shook up but we gets her movin’. Eventually we come to the mouth of a cave. Gideon’s yammerin’ about not leavin’ tracks. Like the squashed ‘gator wasn’t clue enough that we come this way. Out we come in any case. A good few hours walk from the walls of the town. Ain’t no way Chloe woulda made it though that on her own.

So there we are standin’ on a beach. Miles from that cursed town. Freedom. Finally. Clean air, open skies, the land stretchin’ away ahead. Feels so damned good. Krexis starts settin’ a fire to cook up some breakfast. Chloe’s wonderin’ where she’s gonna go from here. Says she’s a Baker an’ that all she’s got of value is a necklace. She says that a Sea Nomad called Bukan gave it to her. That guy cannot keep a damned secret. An’ he wonders why Sea Nomad caches keep gettin’ stole. If you tell everyone about them, they’re gonna go missin’.

I feel it then. For the first time in over a week. A call I gotta answer. I run down the beach an’ dive into the water an’ I start to swim. The waters damned cold. I don’t care. I’m free. I’m alive an’ I’m free. I look back at the shore an’ see Chloe standin’ in the surf. I can see in her eyes that she can feel it too. Maybe there’s hope for her yet. Maybe there’s somethin’ in her worth savin’. She can still feel it. How could you stand before a spirit as great as Ocean and not feel it? The heartbeat. The rhythm of the Great Spirit. Mighty Ocean, mother of all. All life was born of Ocean. But all must fear when Ocean roars. Ocean, who can bring down mountains and swallow empires whole. Should she will it she could smother the world. What is a Karnuta Müd compared to that? Ocean don’t care what she thinks, what she believes or even what she does. She can turn folks to stone? So what. She can’t do a damned thing to Ocean. Ocean was ancient when Karnuta Müd got shit out of whatever hell spawned her and Ocean still will be long after she has turned to dust. Nothin’ more than tears in the rain. Mighty Ocean knows only one mistress. Like us she is a dancer in the Dark Dance. Even she feels the call of the Moonmaiden. The Light on the Path. How can anyone worship a snake when all around them is power beyond anythin’ they could even imagine. When all you have to do is stand still and feel the rush of life all around you. I know where I put my faith. But I know that I ain’t got all the answers. I know that my faith alone ain’t enough. The Moonmaiden will show me the path. It is up to me to walk it.

 Blood and Stone

Ninth Entry:

Feels good to be outta that damned town. I feel like I’ve been underwater all week. Just tryin’ to hold my breath. Enjoyin’ the quiet out here. ‘Till the baby starts cryin’ that is. Oh well. Least it’s only one, and it’s on the outside of my head this time. Could be worse. We start walkin’, headin’ North for Darétik. Some folks got the notion that we outta flag down some Sea Nomads, ask em for a lift. I ain’t keen on that plan. Those guys can be trouble if you ain’t careful and they never do nothin’ for free. Besides, they don’t go to Darétik, we already knows that. Either way, they’re too far out. We can keep an eye on ‘em while we walk. Need to put some distance between us and this gods forsaken place. Decide to head for the tower. It’s a good defensible place, now we know what we’re defendin’ against anyways.

We gets to settin’ up camp at the tower again. I get to sharpenin’ some thick stakes, gonna set ‘em in the ground. That’ll stop a chargin’ Owlbear. Oswlen uses his magic to dig some pits an’ build up some ramparts real quick. Now that’s what I call useful magic! Real timesaver. He even opens up some holes to set the stakes in. No big, fluffy bastards gonna get the drop on us this time.

We’re just settin’ down for the night, gettin’ ready to get some sleep, when we hears the sound of bells. Chloe reckons it’s a duck, don’t know why, an’ she gets to bowin’ down. Turns out to be that damned demon-critter again! How the hells did she get here? We’re best part of a days march from that hell hole of a town, she must’ve started walkin’ just after we did to get here. That’s real suspicious. I’m ready for a fight. Fed up with her bullshit. She needs to pay for what she has done. Honour demands it. This is our chance. No need to sneak in. Don’t need to worry ‘bout guards. Don’t need to worry ‘bout cultists. Don’t need to worry ‘bout gettin’ out after. She’s far from home an’ all alone. Thing is, I don’t know if I can take her on my own an’ I don’t know if anybody here gonna stand with me. If I was with my old crew there’d be no doubt. If I attacked I’d know they were all with me. Hell, if I was with my old crew she’d already have a coupla arrows stickin’ out of her by now. Aerdrie don’t mess around. She sees somethin’ evil an’ unnatural an’ she gets to killin’ it. Then I remember the baby. He’s gonna be a target if a fight breaks out. Don’t wanna put him at risk. Dammit. What the hell we gonna do? Sounds like she got a job for Chloe to do. Sounds about right. Ain’t no point in wastin’ people if they can be useful. Then Oswlen speaks up. Says he got a gift for her in his hand if’n she wants it. What’s he up to? She comes over to take a look an’ bam! Turned to damned stone! Yeah! Now that was awesome! Damn demon-critter nothin’ more’n a statue. Died on her own damn blade. So happy right now. Got a whole new respect for Oswlen too. Damn clever trick. I reckon’ we should get to smashin’ her up an’ have done with it. Oswlen want’s to take her home an’ put her in a garden. I kinda like the sound of that. Next thing I know Chloe’s lungin’ at Oswlen with a knife. Oh hell. This is bad. She’s a guest an’ she has borne arms against the people. The punishment for that is to be shown what it costs to bear arms against the people. As a Warrior it is my duty to teach her that lesson. Make sure she don’t ever forget it. But I don’t wanna be beatin’ on little girls. That ain’t somethin’ I do. I ain’t like Him. I don’t wanna ever become like Him either. I disarm her as quick as I can. Try not to hurt her. Don’t want her hurtin’ nobody, not even herself. Damn demon-critter had a lot to answer for. Turnin’ children into stones an’ keepin’ the people like children. Still, if you are dealin’ with children you gets to be lenient. Keep ‘em safe while they learn. Maybe she’ll find her place among the people if she has time to learn. ‘Till then, no weapons though. Look after ‘em for her ‘till we gets back to Darétik an’ there’s more folks to watch over her. We all settle down for the night but none of us gets much sleep. Between the baby howlin’ and Chloe cryin’ it’s a rough night.

Next few days are up an’ down. We keep on walkin’ towards Darétik. Makin’ good time. Happy to be on the move. Happy to be doin’ somethin’. Land round here is pretty nice. Walkin’ through coastal woodland. I stay up front an’ just try an’ enjoy the journey. Have to start pluggin’ my ears up at night though. No matter what anyone does the baby just keeps on cryin’. Glad Norlen knows what he’s doin’ ‘cause I ain’t got a clue how to handle kids. Never had to deal with any. Good to know he’s gettin’ what he needs at least even if he ain’t bein’ quiet about it. Chloe keeps up her whinin’ too. Like she reckons the world gonna change to suit her if she just acts up enough. Her an’ the baby both. They both got a lot to learn. Life ain’t fair and you hardly ever get what you want. Sooner you learn that the sooner you can get on with livin’ your life. It’s damned ridiculous though, when I was her age I’d had my Warrior’s braid more’n six years already. Had a lot of folks countin’ on me too.

At one point I hear Norlen comin’ up behind me. Looks like he’s tryin’ to take the fancy knife I took from Chloe but he ain’t lookin’ where he’s goin’ so he trips. No idea why he would wanna do that. I ask him what he’s up to. He says he’s been talkin’ to Chloe an’ she wants her knife back. Says it’s important to her as it was a gift from that damned demon-critter an’ she promises not to hurt nobody. I don’t think it’s a good idea to give her a weapon at all. She don’t know how to use it, she don’t know how to control herself an’ she’s got no damned respect for anybody outside her own little world. But Norlen seems convinced by her. Disappointed that he felt the need to try an’ steal from me rather than just talkin’ to me. Folks gonna make mistakes I suppose. Gotta remember that. Hope he knows better for the future though. Might trust his judgement for now. Treat this as a chance to help Chloe out. I can explain to her why I took the knives off her an’ why I don’t think she deserves to have ‘em back. I can tell her about my people and the way we do things. Our way might not be the best way, it might not even be what’s best for her, but it does work. We have found a way to live in this ruined world. By relyin’ on each other, an’ relyin’ on ourselves. If nothin’ else it’ll give her somethin’ to think about. A new way of lookin’ at things. Might help her see the way ahead. I’ll give her back the knife for now. I cleaned an’ sharpened ‘em both up ready.

Oh well. Shoulda known better. Why do I always forget that nobody cares what I think? People remind me often enough. Soon as I start speakin’ she’s talkin’ over me. Not listenin’ to a damned word I say. Just whinin’ an’ complainin’. Says she’s a slave. Hah! Don’t see her doin’ much work round here. Besides, a slave talk to their master like she’s talkin’ to me they be lucky to survive the beatin’ they get. Met a fair few former slaves in my time. Freed a few too. Nothin’ pisses Aerdrie off like some asshole tradin’ in flesh an’ I’m right with her on that one. Starts talkin’ about what would happen if someone killed my leader. She wouldn’t try an’ use that one on me if she knew anythin’ about me. I could tell her that story too, there’s a powerful lesson to be learned in it, but she wouldn’t have listened to that either. I can’t hardly get a word in edgeways here and I’m gettin’ bored listenin’ to all this self pityin’ nonsense. I’m sick of her an’ her snake cult privilege. She don’t even seem to remember that her comin’ along with us was all her idea in the first place! I’m just goin’ to give her the knife and leave her to it. But then Krexis speaks up an’ tells me that the dagger is magic. He says it’s real powerful an’ it’s got powers like the demon-critter had, that it can turn folks to stone. Damned if I’m givin’ somethin’ that powerful to a spoilt little brat just so she can stab me in the back with it. I give her back her old knife instead and take my place up at the front of the line. Thank the Moonmaiden for Krexis, that was a close one. It’s damn stupid, says she wants to see the world but she don’t wanna learn nothin’ about it an’ she expects not to be changed by it. What she wants is to sit in her damned gilded cage an’ have the world come to her so’s she can judge it an’ find it wantin’. To the hells with her then. If she ain’t got the courtesy to listen then I ain’t goin’ to help her ‘till she grows up enough to damn well ask me to.

Been travellin’ a while now an’ we come across a charnel field. Whole bunch of llamas, all ripped apart. It ain’t a pretty sight. Smells pretty bad too. Some folks start gettin’ sick from the smell. This a wild herd? Or are these Otzi’s? Don’t see nothin’ looks human. Humanish? Humanoid? Whatever. This looks like the work of a giant. Would have to be something big to do this much damage. Reckon we better do our best to keep hid for now. Try an’ get by without bein’ noticed.

Didn’t matter in the end. We’re walkin’ through the wood. Takin’ things slow, keepin’ our eyes open. Next thing we know a boulder is flyin’ at us through the air. I manage to get outta the way but Oswlen gets knocked off the llama. Before we gets a chance to organise a Hill Giant just up an appears outta thin air right on top of us. Where the hell was he hidin’ in these woods? He’s got three big ass dogs with him too an’ they’re all out for blood. Two of the dogs run round me an’ attack the others, the third charges right at me an’ bites me. Then the giant comes lumberin’ up an’ swings a club the size of a damn tree at me. Dammit, that was a hard hit. Then he swings the damn thing again. Hells. Couple more hits like that an’ I’m goin’ down. I reach for the battlejoy. The bladesong that rings in my blood. If I’m goin’ I ain’t goin’ easy. Gonna show this bastard how a Warrior dies. I take a big swing at the dog facin’ me an’ hit it hard sendin’ it reelin’ back. Damn thing bites at me again. Then the giant is on the move, chargin’ past. I takes a swing at him as he passes an’ smack him with my maul hard across the shin but he just keeps on goin’. Oh shit. Everythin’s goin’ red. Not again! I hates this shit.

All gone dark. Just the pulse of blood an’ the deep red darkness. Driftin’. Have I fallen? Is it over? A sense. A shape in the air. Feels familiar. Feels like Aerdrie. But it ain’t quite right. It’s close but it ain’t quite right. But I want it to be. So for a moment I let myself believe. If she’s here everythin’s goin’ to be alright. I gets to rest easy. An’ I feel so damned tired all of a sudden.

The whole damned world seems to hit me in the face at once. Damned head’s spinnin’. Ears  ringin’. I’m sittin’ on the ground lookin’ out over a scene of chaos. Big ass dog lyin’ by me on the ground. Skull all messed up an’ twisted round. Looks like my work sure enough. The head of my maul is a sticky, black mess. Must’ve done somethin’ right. Anna’s here! Standin’ right by me. An’ little Lilly too! Thank the Spirits. More Warriors is always good. The Hill Giant is there in front of me. Half stooped, half sunk down to one knee, mouth open wide. Stone. Frozen solid in place. The demon-critter’s knife buried between his ribs. I had that, didn’t I? Did I do that? It don’t matter. Long as he’s dead. Lilly goes rushin’ over to him and scampers up him like a squirrel after a nut. Starts scrabblin’ about in his chest. There’s this strange light. Then she gets a real weird look on her face. My head hurts too much for this. Just plain weird. Norlen an’ Oswlen seem to be alright. Poor Krexis got hit pretty bad but the others soon get him back on his feet. Big relief to see everybody’s alright. No sign of Aerdrie. Nobody else seen her either. Shoulda known it was a dream.

The llama’s gone missin’ in the confusion. Damn. She was a valuable member of the team. Good to talk to too. She had a good attitude. Hope we can find her again. I try an’ get the knife outta the giant’s chest but it ain’t movin’. Oh well. Ain’t no loss. Long as nobody gets to use it against us I ain’t bothered about the damned thing. Looks like the demon-critter statue got crushed when the rock hit Oswlen. He's set on picking' up the bits an' takin' 'em home though. Be good if I get to help him make that garden. Somethin' to look forward to. We move away from the battle scene an’ start to set up camp. We’re all beat up pretty bad by the looks of things. ‘Cept Lilly. No surprise there. Wily little thing, too hard to hit. Been a while since I needed to sleep this bad. Sure I’m forgettin’ somethin’. Never mind. Need to sleep.

 Return to Darétik

Tenth Entry:

We’re up an’ walkin’. Headin’ back to Darétik. Nobody talkin’ much, don’t know why. Maybe they’re all in a hurry to get back. Easy enough to find the way. Just followin’ the shore. Before I knows it we’re headin’ down the little track leads into the village. Back again I suppose. The others break off an’ go their own way. I just drop off my stuff and go for a swim. All covered up with road dust an’ blood from the fight with the giant. Need to get cleaned up. When I get back to the new hall most of the others are there along with the Moonspeaker. Everybody’s fussin’ round the baby but we’re also gettin’ each other caught up on what we’ve been doin’ since we split up. We tell ‘em about the hell town full of Drauger and their demon-critter queen. The new young’un, Fuu, looks like he likes the sound of a town full of women. But they all look shocked when we tell ‘em about the children. Glad nobody here’s dumb enough to think livin’ like that is a good idea. Then we gets on to the bit about the Hill Giant. Sounds like it was me that stabbed him with that demon knife after all. Glad to know I made a difference. What worries me is what the Moonspeaker has to say about all this. She sent us out to find out what was happenin’ in Fuall ‘cause they had lost contact with ‘em an’ nobody knew why. Turns out the Moonspeaker knew all about the demon-critter after all, knew her name an’ her story an’ everything. This ain’t good. I don’t like being lied to. Startin’ to wonder why I’m botherin’ with a place like this at all.

Then the others get to tellin’ us about what they were doin’ while we was in hell. Sounds like they found them Hags everybody was scared about. They took Te’na, right outta the village. Gods dammit. What happened to the ritual we all did? Didn’t that work? What in the hells is goin’ on round here? They fought an Owlbear an’ Keth’nell got bit. Guess she is a Warrior after all. Then they went on an’ found the Hags. Seems they was disguised. That’s what Hags do, ain’t it? No surprise there. One of ‘em was the woman who came to our camp when we was on that island. I never got to meet her in any case. They got tricked by the first one. That’s what Hags do too. They smashed some magic doohicky of hers and made her blind. Smart move. Turns out it turned all the others blind too. They killed her an’ Fuu cut her damn head off. That ain’t easy with a rapier. Ain’t made for cuttin’, too much flex. Gotta get in just the right spot to slip between the bones. I’m impressed, boy’s got some bladeskill. Then they burn her body. Best thing to do with things like that, gotta make sure. Another smart move. Second one tried to trick ‘em too but Fuu just went on an’ got to stabbin’. Startin’ to like him. He’s got good sense. They got her the same as her sister. Third one tried to make out that she was the Moonspeaker but they attacked anyway. Another sensible decision. Lookin’ like I was with the wrong group. These guys know how to get things done. They saved Te’na but the third Hag got away. Shame. We’ll get her though. Only a matter of time. When they got back to the village they ran into Otzi an’ Aurelitz with their llamas. Tipped ‘em off about the Hill Giant so they came to meet us. This is the bit I don’t understand though. The two Hags an’ the Hill Giant all had… little stones in ‘em? When they got killed people took the stones out an’ now they got some kinda magic powers. That’s just weird. Kath’nell, Lilly and Anna all got one. Don’t like the sound of that at all.

Finally got to talk to the Blacksmith, Eallan. Feels damn awkward askin’ for favours. Don’t like bein’ beholden to nobody. Forge’s are sacred, an’ this Forge is hers. Got to do this the right way. Seems impressed by my work. Wants me to see about improvin’ the Forge. Can’t say I ever built one before but I know how they work. I’ll have to see what I can do. Looks like I’ve a place here for now anyway.

Keth’nell wants me to teach her how to fight. Says she wants to be able to teach folks how to defend themselves. First sensible thing I’ve heard her say. If she wants to protect her people she’s got some things straight anyways. Everybody should be able to look out for themselves. It’s the only way to survive in this world. I ain’t gonna deny someone the chance to learn that.