Thoughts of a Wind Blown Soul

[Anrilor]

Mercenary duty, not the most glamorous job I have ever done. I still miss my days as a first mate, blowing the sails in out favor to get where we were going faster than any other merchant ship in Calimport. Luskan's ended all of that though when they sunk our ship without warning. I wanted in on the legion, but they wouldn't have me, they stared me down like some sort of monster they should have killed rather than accept my help. I sulked for a while, until I caught wind of an Elf who was much like me in my ability to blend martial fighting with arcane prowess, legionnaire too, and he to rejected me at first. Catching me in a drunken stupor, he felt sorry for me, and sent me to the training camp for nobles who want to learn to fight. When I kicked their asses the nobles cried to their families to have the big bad windy girl kicked out of the camp.

So here I am now, a Blackwood mercenary, on duty in a nearly empty trade post due to the blockade. Glorious. The pay is shit here, as the blockade has stopped goods from reaching the post, no one has anything to trade. It's a ghost town here, half the merchants stopped showing up to peddle their goods as they have nothing to sell any more. I'm bored out of my mind, but luckily I can leave when I want, too many guards with not enough business to keep an eye on. So when I do leave, I can go out and train in the Viridale to keep in shape and on edge.

A contract is supposed to open in Sestra soon, I'm going to have to race the other grunts to get to it first, however, I think I have a leg up on them already. I talked to Brigadier Cruven about getting me in on the contract after telling him my smuggling plan to get past the Blockade to get some real supplies from Neverwinter. He was surprised at my planning skills and instantly liked me. He is a man with a brain, and a strong arm to boot. No reason not to like him for now.

[Anrilor]

Gods help me, I'm bored. A thousand gold to stand here around in Sestra for the rest of my life waiting for the militia to get their asses kicked by Luskans is godsdamn boring. I come up with plans to learn what were facing and they get laughed at by everyone. 'Don't worry, the Hands of Mundus are working on it' is all I ever hear, and yet, seems to me, no one knows what in the nine hells were up against other than 'a large luskan force'. gee what useless information. oh they have mages and assassins. OK great, how big are their boats, how many people can fit on one? what is the size of the mercenary army they just paid for? all I get back is "don't worry, were handling it" well fucking figure it out! I'm not standing here so I can get my face stomped in by a navy of over a thousand just because we feel we need to let others handle shit.

If that wasn't enough, I come up with a plan to use air elementals to fly over the blockade and learn some of those things, and I get laughed at because "the mages could capture the air elementals". you don't fly them at the ship's deck and shake their hands with the elemental, keep them high and with the clouds. I can speak Auran, I can talk to the air elementals to learn what they learned, it's not that hard. 'oh, the Hands of Mundus could just scry them' Um, no, if the Luskan's have mages, the mages are likely putting up anti scrying fields, smart huh? Even if we did scry them, why are we not being told what the hells were up against? This whole situation is just fucked, and I'm bound by verbal contract that I'm supposed to stand here like a dumbass and wait for them to attack. All for a shitty sum of a thousand stags.

I wish I could go out and train, but seems all my help with that has faded away. no one seems to want to hire a mercenary to help them in the forest anymore, and I'm not quite good enough to go up against the cartel yet. The stupid snakes up on the mountain would be easy if I knew how to protect myself from their acid spits. Then you have to worry about stepping on a goddamn mushroom. Just nick one and it lets out a toxic fume that almost killed me. I need new sparing partners.

[Anrilor]

So I am starting to understand that people here just don't have hope for anything. Black Hand vampires harassing people, evil dead god trying to be resurrected, Luskan starting a war, Legion stretched to far for them to do shit, Triumvirate hands bound by laws to prevent hunting the banites so priests can preach. It's like watching a hole in the side of the ship filling the hold and everyone just stands their wondering how long before they drown. No one has any trust or faith in anyone else in this place, which is probably why no one can work together.

These factions of Sundren seem to be in shambles, the 'good guys' all hate each other as they compete to be the 'hero'. All prideful arrogant bastards. Corps de Grace couldn't save themselves if they tried. Apparently their prison system is to let vampires see each other so they know where to find their lover and save them. I wouldn't be surprised if Cirion walked her out the gate myself after hearing the rumors of him loving a vampire himself. Legion are all a bunch of racists, didn't let me in because of my elemental bloodline and trust no one but themselves to defend Sundren. Hands of Mundus who are apparently doing everything that no one sees or hears about is going to win the war. Triumvirate apparently have some sort of plan to scout out the blockade, what ever that religious group of assholes can do. Blackwood mercenaries, yeah sure plenty of muscles, absolutely no brain, just kill kill kill, where is my gold? Red Blades? hmm, only seen one, and is always comming out of the Corps De Grace HQ, and going on walks with Cirion, hugging and kissing him. A few posted around in Sestra as well, but meh, they don't seem to do anything but stand there with their swords going 'ooga booga stay back, follow law, ooga booga.'

So what about me? I have brains, but I get upturned noses because of my blood and new arrival. Always being told 'someone else is working on it' really? where are the results? where is the inspiration of hope that everyone needs? where is the success? and why the hell does everyone not know what the hells is going on?

[Anrilor]

Reassignment again, this one is better for me though, no more standing around bored in some town where nothing ever happens. VIP protection, seems Lady Aurora needs a body guard and she picked me because I'm not a muscle headed guy that she would probably try to sleep with, or that I wouldn't try to sleep with her against her will after filling her drink with a knock out drug. Coin is better too, seems the Hellstroms give better salaries than Exigo or the worthless Sestra Militia. Nothing to complain about, she is lively too, so I'm not stalking the halls of her 'daddy's' castle all night. She actually enjoy's going out and fights like any other grunt in this militia. Wonder if Daddy paid for her melee training as well.

Anyways, not much else to think about right now, need to go catch up with her before her next big adventure.