The Happenings of Lila Felder: Thoughts, Incidents and Dreams.*is a collection of whatever passes through Lila's head as she writes. It's a nice solid leather-bound journal, and of course it's Hin-sized. Her hand-writing is rather neat and like her, quite tiny. Though for the common person would not be able to read a single word, as she writes in her native Hin language.
First of all, I might as well say why I am doing this thing that I am doing. On my journey from home to Sundren, I met this man, who may have inspired me more than anyone else in the world. He was an elderly tall-folk, who dressed quite modestly and kept to himself, until he noticed me.
You see, I was leaving home, yep. I had enough of mum and pop. My brother, Falk, got the farm when he married, and that's when I noticed I had to get my own life. So I was a stow-away. It's quite easy as a little Hin-girl, I fit in all the small little nooks and crannies of wagons and ships. I left from the country side of Luiren and went to all kinds of places, but never for long. I don't recall most of them, though I usually ended up in large cities. They were almost mystical places, but not the ones you dream to be in, rather the ones that fill your nightmares. The hustle and bustle was fun at first, until I started to notice the horrors of civilization. As stated above I didn't like to linger and I always changed who I traveled with. Until I met Christopher.
This part I remember vividly, he was such a character, how couldn't I? I slipped onto a ship at the docks in Mezro and hide below the deck. Unfortunately, I had no idea that I was on a non-stop voyage to Waterdeep, which is far, far from Mezro. After a couple days of scrounging, I decided to make myself seen. For it was a large crew and maybe I could get away with not being noticed, and with a bit a luck I did. I was living the high-life, eating everyday and enjoying the ocean view from the ship's deck. It was fantastic, and I thought I was in the clear.
As I stared off into the ocean one sunset, I felt a large, firm hand fall upon my shoulder. I slowly turned my head around, with awful thoughts racing through my head. I've heard stories of captains throwing stow-away Hins overboard, so I was quite nervous to say the least. And there was Christopher with a slight grin on his face, visible through his big bushy beard.
After several minutes, we found ourselves chatting for hours about everything from dwarves to planting wheat, but nothing significant really. Though I will never forget when he said, "You don't belong here. I sensed that when I saw you, you're not a thieving stow-away Hin like some. There's something about you..." He paused and gazed out towards the horizon, as if he was hoping the right words would just spring up out of the ocean.*
"You're a true free-spirit, but that's not all. You have a heart, and a sense of balance. It's not everyday I step on a ship and sense such a person, who lacks... direction. In fact, you may be the first who has struck me as so."
I was speechless and not sure exactly what he was trying to convey. Though it became clearer later in our travels. When we arrived in Waterdeep, he asked if I would join him on a Trek to the woods north of Neverwinter. He ended up being one of those druid folks, and said there was some sort of imbalance there, plus he had an old friend he wanted to meet with. On our way to Neverwinter, he lectured me about his life as a druid, which was surprisingly quite interesting. When we got there, I gave him a hand at squashing a fire-beetle infestation that had gotten way out of hand. That night he asked me to watch over our little make-shift camp, so I did, but not very successfully. I dozed of with in an hour after he left.*
The next morning I awoke to find myself being poked with a staff. "Up, quickly, we have a long hike ahead of us." Christopher said little to me during the next week, though we moved quickly headed north past Luskan. It was not until we reached the border of Sundren that we had a long conversation. That is when he offered to teach me the basic skills and secrets of a druid. I was fascinated by the old man and could not refuse. When I asked him where we would be going, he corrected me.
"You'll be going to the land of Sundren, alone. If you are meant to be a druid like I believe you are, you will be fine on your own. Your spirit is close to nature and your heart is in the right place. Though it would be a crime for me to impose my orderly ways upon you Lila. You're something much different than I am. You operate on a whim and sometimes with methods that can be, well, unorthodox. I am stability and order, you are change and chaos. We represent two entirely different ideas, even though we may strive for the same cause. But that is not bad, do not think that. Think of it as a balance, we all can't be bound to the books and rules, some of us have to be like you. Now follow that path straight ahead. Figure out what it is you have to do. I have faith in you, if I didn't, I wouldn't be sending you off like this.”
I slowly went on my way, and he remained watching until I was out of sight. Since arriving in Sundren, I've noticed that Christopher was right. I will grow here in my own and unique way. I can already sense myself becoming more aware of nature and its glories. It's kind of an indescribable feeling, but the comfort and closeness I feel here in the remote locations of Sundren makes me certain that I am following a path that is meant to be.
That's it for now. I've been sitting in front of the Second Wind Inn on a very quiet evening, though finally another has showed up. I ought to say hello.
First of all, I might as well say why I am doing this thing that I am doing. On my journey from home to Sundren, I met this man, who may have inspired me more than anyone else in the world. He was an elderly tall-folk, who dressed quite modestly and kept to himself, until he noticed me.
You see, I was leaving home, yep. I had enough of mum and pop. My brother, Falk, got the farm when he married, and that's when I noticed I had to get my own life. So I was a stow-away. It's quite easy as a little Hin-girl, I fit in all the small little nooks and crannies of wagons and ships. I left from the country side of Luiren and went to all kinds of places, but never for long. I don't recall most of them, though I usually ended up in large cities. They were almost mystical places, but not the ones you dream to be in, rather the ones that fill your nightmares. The hustle and bustle was fun at first, until I started to notice the horrors of civilization. As stated above I didn't like to linger and I always changed who I traveled with. Until I met Christopher.
This part I remember vividly, he was such a character, how couldn't I? I slipped onto a ship at the docks in Mezro and hide below the deck. Unfortunately, I had no idea that I was on a non-stop voyage to Waterdeep, which is far, far from Mezro. After a couple days of scrounging, I decided to make myself seen. For it was a large crew and maybe I could get away with not being noticed, and with a bit a luck I did. I was living the high-life, eating everyday and enjoying the ocean view from the ship's deck. It was fantastic, and I thought I was in the clear.
As I stared off into the ocean one sunset, I felt a large, firm hand fall upon my shoulder. I slowly turned my head around, with awful thoughts racing through my head. I've heard stories of captains throwing stow-away Hins overboard, so I was quite nervous to say the least. And there was Christopher with a slight grin on his face, visible through his big bushy beard.
After several minutes, we found ourselves chatting for hours about everything from dwarves to planting wheat, but nothing significant really. Though I will never forget when he said, "You don't belong here. I sensed that when I saw you, you're not a thieving stow-away Hin like some. There's something about you..." He paused and gazed out towards the horizon, as if he was hoping the right words would just spring up out of the ocean.*
"You're a true free-spirit, but that's not all. You have a heart, and a sense of balance. It's not everyday I step on a ship and sense such a person, who lacks... direction. In fact, you may be the first who has struck me as so."
I was speechless and not sure exactly what he was trying to convey. Though it became clearer later in our travels. When we arrived in Waterdeep, he asked if I would join him on a Trek to the woods north of Neverwinter. He ended up being one of those druid folks, and said there was some sort of imbalance there, plus he had an old friend he wanted to meet with. On our way to Neverwinter, he lectured me about his life as a druid, which was surprisingly quite interesting. When we got there, I gave him a hand at squashing a fire-beetle infestation that had gotten way out of hand. That night he asked me to watch over our little make-shift camp, so I did, but not very successfully. I dozed of with in an hour after he left.*
The next morning I awoke to find myself being poked with a staff. "Up, quickly, we have a long hike ahead of us." Christopher said little to me during the next week, though we moved quickly headed north past Luskan. It was not until we reached the border of Sundren that we had a long conversation. That is when he offered to teach me the basic skills and secrets of a druid. I was fascinated by the old man and could not refuse. When I asked him where we would be going, he corrected me.
"You'll be going to the land of Sundren, alone. If you are meant to be a druid like I believe you are, you will be fine on your own. Your spirit is close to nature and your heart is in the right place. Though it would be a crime for me to impose my orderly ways upon you Lila. You're something much different than I am. You operate on a whim and sometimes with methods that can be, well, unorthodox. I am stability and order, you are change and chaos. We represent two entirely different ideas, even though we may strive for the same cause. But that is not bad, do not think that. Think of it as a balance, we all can't be bound to the books and rules, some of us have to be like you. Now follow that path straight ahead. Figure out what it is you have to do. I have faith in you, if I didn't, I wouldn't be sending you off like this.”
I slowly went on my way, and he remained watching until I was out of sight. Since arriving in Sundren, I've noticed that Christopher was right. I will grow here in my own and unique way. I can already sense myself becoming more aware of nature and its glories. It's kind of an indescribable feeling, but the comfort and closeness I feel here in the remote locations of Sundren makes me certain that I am following a path that is meant to be.
That's it for now. I've been sitting in front of the Second Wind Inn on a very quiet evening, though finally another has showed up. I ought to say hello.
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