A Tatty Old Journal

[Vicissitudes]

*The following entry is not dated, and appears much like previous entries that seem to be a collection of observations over a longer period of time*

More People Stuff

Well, little diary, I thought I should tell you a bit more about some people I've already met, and about others I've met recently. There's so many people here. Most of them adventurers, all much more important than me, and very strange and powerful.


Erishkagal of Silverymoon

I met Erishkagal outside Aquor, once. I was scared of him at first, little diary - he wore a big masked hood, and travelled invisible, like a ghost. When he showed me his face, I saw he was an elf, and since then he's helped me a lot. He seems nice, little diary, but quite crazy - not the normal too-tall oddness, but very crazy - he throws chickens and pigs and cats around, carries lots of silly hats... he seems harmless, though. Or I thought so.

I can't help but wonder, though - he says he is an exile, and can't show his face in cities or towns... I think that's what he said. And I can't figure out why. I'll have to work up the courage to ask him, little diary, I can't for the life of me believe it's anything bad he's done, he doesn't seem the type. Then again, neither do I really ,but I suppose I'm quite horrid, too, especially after what happened to that gnome.

More importantly, he seems to know something of Wolf-Ghost-Dead. I told him about it, and asked him which of the latter two he was... he said neither. I believe him, but... he knows more than he's telling me. I may be silly and naiive, but it was too obvious, little diary. Should I trust him, or not? I wish Baragorn were around. He'd make things so much clearer.


Moriah

Oh, little diary, I don't know what to think of Moriah. She's a too-tall woman, I've mentioned her before, that ever since I met her has been so nice, so strong... she follows Baragorn's Power, so, I trust her because of that, even though his god seems a little "cold" to me. At least, his temples do - all too-tall temples do though, I suppose. They're too big, and all of stone.

She wears her armour all the time, and I can't help but wonder if she has any skin underneath it. I bet she even sleeps in it, too. And when she found me upset in Viridale, and I crawled down into the bunker... I think she's as hard and clunky as her armour, little diary. Oh, forgive me for being mean, I know I must sound horrid to you. But despie her wanting to... be nice to me, it was like her armour stopped her, made her colder, harder. She told me to stand, be strong, that only I could help myself... it just made me feel weaker. All I really wanted was someone to hug me and tell me things would be alright. Her armour, though... it seems so much like chains around her feelings.


Harik Krows

I've seen him before, but the first time I knew much about him was in Sestra, when so many gathered around him. He was being arrested. Oh, little diary, I was so afeared... they all looked so scared of him, and so many people told me of him, of him being a murderer... yet he is still free, apparently innocent. I don't know what to think, so many people saying such things... surely they can't all be wrong? Another case of wishing Baragorn was here, to tell me whether he is good or bad. He seems so scary, though, I've seen Syne speaking to him, and he always stands in one place... Gah. I wish you could give me advice, little diary.

[Vicissitudes]

*This entry is scrawled in Violet's typical messy cursive, yet the way she curls the tops and bottoms of her letters, unusual for her, and draws crude little meaningless geometric patterns in the margin might make a reader aware of her contemplative mood at the time of writing*

Am I Evil Now?

I think I'm evil, little diary. I must be, and I'm sure Baragorn thinks so. We caught up to the Ghost yesterday, high up in the mountains above Aquor, just below the snowline, and... I saw him. Baragorn did, too - we were both shocked to find he wasn't a ghost at all, but an elf. I felt so stupid, little diary, Baragorn must have thought me such an idiot, babbling about ghosts and spectres when it was nothing of the sort.

But this Ghost, little diary - I'll still call him that, for I'm sure he is the Ghost from Wolf-Ghost-Dead - was using the wrong magic I've been telling you and everyone about. I could smell it from where I was standing, and when I cast my cantrips to detect it... it was there. He reeked of it. I knew that the Lord of Spells was watching, I knew that I had to do something... but Baragorn stopped me. He said the man was not a bad man, that he was not threatening us; he might have been right, but I could feel the wrongness of his magic, I just knew he was hurting the Weave, that he was hurting the Lord of Spells. I had to do something, little diary... I tried to kill him. I threw a fireball, but he popped out of existence before it hit, in the nick of time.

Oh, little diary, Baragorn was so angry. I thought he was going to chop my head off right there, for attacking Ghost, but what else could I do, little diary? Ghost refused to stop the magic, refused to cease his perversion of the Art. He said he was using it to draw another, a much more bad mage out but little diary - I do not care. His Art was twisted, perverted, wrong, it needed to be stopped. I tried to, little diary. I tried to kill him, to stop it. I'm evil, I know it, I know it. First the gnome, then Ghost... maybe I should tell Baragorn about the gnome. Do you think so, little diary? Then he'd chop off my ugly little head, and I'd dissapear, and the world would be a better place.

I don't really mean it, little diary. I'm sorry, but I can't help it, I don't know what to think anymore. I thought when Baragorn got back, that everything would be clearer. It's not.

[Vicissitudes]

*This entry is written in flowing, messy cursive like the rest of Violet's writing. It doesn't seem particularly messy for her, or rushed - and the middle part even seems to be done in a rather structured point-by-point manner.*

About Baneites

I thought I should be warning you, little diary, about Bane and his followers. You see, little diary, there's been quite a lot of trouble with them lately - you might not have noticed, tucked safe inside the back over of my spellbook as you are, but while you've been tucked away there, I've nearly been squished! Two times! Oh, little diary, I'll tell you all about it, but first, let me tell you some things about Baneites so that if you see one, you recognise him, and can call for help.

• Baneites are big and tall, and come covered in spells and black armour.
• Baneites have big metal spiky helms, that look like crowns, because they think they are kings.
• Which brings me to the next point - they think they're kings, because they are Crazy.
• That's Crazy with a capital "C", not crazy with a lowercase "c".
• Baneites are always surrounded by at least fifty undead zombies and skeletons.
• Because of the zombies, Baneites smell really really bad, even when they don't have the zombies about.
• You can't kill a Baneite. If you do, it pops up again like a vampire, and even more undead come.
• Baneites want to turn the whole world into zombies. They're very very very bad people.
• If you have a paladin like Mister Baragorn, they will kill the Baneite for you.
• If you don't have a Paladin, you should run away very very fast. Because the Baneite will chase you and try to turn you into a zombie.
• Baneites like to talk a lot, and speak about how they want to save the world. They don't, of course, but they seem to want you to think they do.
• As long as you're talking to a Baneite, it won't attack you unless you make it angry. It will attack eventually though, unless you're a very good conversationalist.
• Baneites like rain. They only come out when it is raining. Maybe the sun makes them explode?
• Note to self: Must see what happens when a Baneite is exposed to the sun's rays.

You must think me so silly, little diary, for saying all these stupid things. And I know it sounds childish, but it's true! I swear it's true, all of it. I've seen them, you see, the Baneites. The "Black Hand" as Baragorn and Erishkagal call them. Until I came to Sundren, I'd only heard tales of them in Athkatla, and I was so very ignorant - I barely knew anything. Now I know better. Twice, now, it's happened.

One time I was in the Viridale Forest, and one of the Baneites came up, throwing fireballs and burning the grass and yelling at me. I ran, that time, and hid in the druid's grove. I didn't know he was a Baneite back then, but since the second Baneite, I can look back and say with certainty that he was - he had the same black scary armour, the same undead, the same "way" of speaking like he was a king, like he owned everything around him. I was lucky to get away that time, especially as it was raining and muddy and Baragorn was not around.

The second time was but a few days ago, little diary. It was at the crossroads, and Erishkagal and Baragorn were talking of the Black Hand. I was listening, feeling very scared and ignorant, it was like sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories. And you know sometimes when you do that, someone jumps out of the bushes and pretends to be the ghost in the story, and yells "Boo!"? That's what happened, little diary - except it was real.

The Baneite walked towards us, with his black armour and his dozens and dozens of undead behind. Baragorn and him got into an argument - the coward I was, I ran back to the Exigo camp to get help. But the pink frilly woman who came, she was no help at all, and we only got back in time to see Baragorn attacked by all those zombies! He fought so bravely, slaying them all... I wish I were more brave like him, I really do. I fear I wasn't much use in all the fighting. Afterwards, the Baneite sat right back up, and even more undead came, trying to take the frilly pink woman!

Oh, little diary, we were lucky to get out of there alive. Mister Baragorn, too.

I'm running out of space, little diary. But let me tell you for now, I'll watch out for these Baneites, and you should too. And if either of us see one, we should run.