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Steves Basement - <span style="color: yellow; background: #6d72ff">MAGNIFICENT!</spant>
MAGNIFICENT!
THE EXODUS
A LOT OF PEOPLE SEEM TO BE REALLY WORKED UP ABOUT THIS WHOLE MOVING THING. I'M NOT. HOW BAD CAN IT BE?
WE'RE GOING TO A NEW LAND WHERE THERE WILL BE ALL SORTS OF NEW THINGS TO DISCOVER - NEW PLACES, NEW PEOPLE, NEW CREATURES, NEW MAGIC, ALL MANNER OF THINGS! ON TOP OF THAT I'VE HEARD WE MIGHT EVEN GET TO SEE SOME ELVES AND ELVEN MAGIC! I THINK THIS EXODUS MIGHT BE THE BEST THING EVER!
LANDFALL DAY ONE
LIFE ON THE SHIP WAS FUN, BUT I'M GLAD WE ARE BACK ON LAND NOW. PEOPLE CAN GET REALLY UPSET WHEN YOU CONJURE A FEW THINGS TO HELP MAKE STUFF RIGHT.
ANYHOW, I WAS ASSIGNED AS PART OF AN INVESTIGATION TEAM BY THE EARL HIMSELF! HOW AMAZING IS IT THAT WE'RE IN THIS NEW LAND FOR A DAY AND ALREADY I'M BEING NOTICED BY HIMSELF?
I INVITED SIMON ALONG BECAUSE I KNOW THE BOY CAN HAVE FUN IF HE REMEMBERS TO TRY AND THEN WE HAD THESE TWO BATTLE-WEARY VETS WITH US! THEY WERE AWESOME! THE ONE GUY, YTTERSBY, WAS CONSTANTLY GIVING US GOOD ADVICE ON WHO TO ATTACK AND WHEN AND WHERE AND THE OTHER GUY, BYRON RAVENSON WAS CONSTANTLY KILLING STUFF WITH HIS SPEAR! HE RULES!
WE ENCOUNTERED A NEW KIND OF COW, SOME KIND OF GIANT BIRD, A BUNCH OF WOLVES AND A GOBLIN THAT COULD CHANGE INTO A WOLF-THING. WE LEFT THE COW ALONE, BUT BETWEEN THE FOUR OF US, WE KILLED THE REST OF THE STUFF! BYRON WAS DEFINITELY THE BEST WARRIOR OUT THERE ALTHOUGH I THINK HAVING YTTERSBY ALONG FOR ADVICE HELPED.
MY NEW FRIENDS ARE AWESOME AND THIS ISLAND IS AMAZING! WE ALREADY FOUND SOME RUINS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE OVER AS OUR NEW SETTLEMENT AND HIMSELF IS PLANNING TO TAKE THE TOWER AS HIS TEMPORARY KEEP.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR TOMORROW!
WAHOOO!
WE DID WELL ENOUGH ON OUR FIRST FORAY THAT THE EARL HAS DECREED WE CAN STICK TOGETHER AT LEAST FOR NOW.
WE'VE BEEN HELPING PEOPLE MOVE UP TO THE RUINS. NOW THE EARL HAS SUMMONED US TO AN AUDIENCE. I'M NOT SURE WHAT HE WANTS, BUT WHATEVER HIMSELF ASKS I AM SURE GOING TO TRY TO DELIVER.
CHILDREN ARE AMAZING!
THE BARON SENT US BACK TO THE TOWER AND IT WAS NOT AS EXCITING AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN. IT TURNED OUT THAT IN OUR EXUBERANCE LAST TIME WE HAD EXPLORED ALL BUT THE LAST ROOM OF THE TOWER. WE MADE OUR WAY IN AND FOUND A DEAD ELF.
HE HAD A SILVERED DAGGER STUCK IN HIS CHEST AND IT LOOKED LIKE HE HAD PUT IT THERE HIMSELF. SIMON TOOK IT BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY ENJOYS STABBING THINGS (I AM A BIT CONCERNED ABOUT HIM).
WE HAD ADDED TWO NEW GUYS TO OUR TEAM AND I AM SURE THEY WERE A BIT DISAPPOINTED AT OUR NON-ADVENTURE IN THE TOWER. THEY DID NOT COMPLAIN THOUGH AND THEY SEEMED LIKE FINE COMPANIONS. TWRCH IS A HUNTER AND A SCOUT WHILE URLAN THE TERRIBLE IS, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, A FIERCE AND FEARLESS WARRIOR. I SAW NO REASON TO DOUBT EITHER STATEMENT AS WE EXAMINED THE TOWER.
WE MADE OUR WAY OUT, CONFIDENT THAT LORD ELENDIL WOULD BE HAPPY WITH THE NEWS THAT WE HAD CLEARED THE TOWER.
AS WE MADE OUR WAY BACK WE WERE INTERCEPTED BY ONE OF YTTERBY'S HERD OF CHILDREN. HE SEEMED A FINE LAD AND WAS ARRIVING TO TELL HIS FATHER THAT TWO OF HIS YOUNGER BROTHERS WERE MISSING. HE TOOK US TO SHOW US WHERE HE HAD LAST SEEN THEM AND TWRCH QUICKLY FOUND THEIR TRAIL.
WE FOLLOWED THEM THOUGH A BEAUTIFUL WATERFALL INTO AN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL COMPLEX. I FOUND MYSELF AMAZED AT THEIR CURIOSITY AND WIT IN FINDING THIS PLACE. WE VENTURED IN DEEPER AND DEEPER FIGHTING A FEW DIFFERENT AQUATIC CREATURES UNTIL WE WERE AGAIN FORCED TO CLIMB PAST A WALL OF WATER.
WE ALSO ENCOUNTERED GNOMES THOUGH THEY WERE NOTHING LIKE THE GNOMES I HAD KNOWN BEFORE. THEY HAD TAKEN THE TWO CHILDREN AS SLAVES AND WERE FORCING THEM TO WORK TO MAKE UP FOR AN ASSAULT THEY'D MADE AGAINST ONE OF THE GNOMES.
YTTERBY STEPPED IN AND PAID WEREGILD, THEN DISCUSSED MEETING THE EARL ELENDIL WITH THEM. THEY AGREED.
I THINK IT IS SAFE TO SAY LORD ELENDIL WAS WELL-PLEASED TO MEET THE GNOMES AND MAKE THEM OUR FIRST ALLIES IN THE NEW WORLD.
AFTER THEY LEFT THE EARL SPOKE WITH US AND TOLD US THAT WE WOULD SOON BE INVESTIGATING THE LANDS BEYOND THE ISLAND. SIMON SEEMED UNHAPPY WITH THIS NEWS BUT THE REST OF THE TEAM SEEMED EAGER FOR THE ADVENTURE. I KNOW I CANNOT WAIT TO SERVE IN THIS NEW CAPACITY.
STRANGE TIDIINGS
THERE WERE SOME STRANGE WORDS WRITTEN IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE ELVES. I COULD NOT READ THEM, BUT IT WAS REVEALED THAT THEY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THE TOWER BECOMING BOTH THEIR REFUGE AND THEIR PRISON. IT WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE ELVES ANCIENT COUSINS HAD SCATTERED THEIR PEOPLE AND THAT SOLARION, THE GOOD GENTLE WHO WAS WRITING, WOULD USE THE LAST OF HIS POWER TO DEPRIVE THEM OF JOY.
SO FAR, WE HAVE ASSUMED THAT THEIR WOULD BE A PLACE FOR US HERE, BUT MAYBE THAT ISN'T TRUE. IT DOES NOT SOUND AS IF THE ELVES WHO CAME LATER WERE WELL-RECEIVED BY THEIR KINSMEN. IT MAY BE FOOLISH TO ASSUME OUR RECEPTION WOULD BE ANY WARMER.
STILL THE LORD ELENDIL IS WISE AND LEARNED FAR BEYOND ANYTHING MY COMPANIONS AND I COULD MUSTER. I AM CERTAIN IF HE HAS BROUGHT US HERE HE MUST HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE WE CAN SURVIVE, NAY THRIVE, HERE IN THIS NEW LAND. SO FAR, THE BOUNTY OF NATURE SEEMS ABUNDANT AND THE LOCALS HAVE NOT BEEN TO DIFFICULT TO BRING TO OUR WAY OF THINKING.
ELVES MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THOUGH...
RUMORS ABOUND!
THERE ARE ALWAYS STRANGE STORIES IN ANY TOWN AND WITH OUR TOWN BEING BRAND NEW THERE ARE EVEN STRANGER STORIES THAN USUAL. ONE SUCH RUMOR THAT HAS REACHED MY EARS IS THAT WE MAY BE SENT TO EXPLORE THE MAINLAND.
I AM A LITTLE SURPRISED IF THIS IS TRUE SINCE I THINK MUCH OF THE ISLAND COULD USE A MORE THOROUGH ONCE OVER AND PERHAPS SOME REMOVAL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES. OF COURSE, IT MAY BE THAT HIMSELF HAS LITTLE INTENTION OF SPENDING MUCH TIME ON THIS ISLAND.
WHATEVER OUR NEXT MISSION IS I CAN'T WAIT! THE TOWN IS INTERESTING AND THE TOWNSFOLK HAVE MANY FINE TALES TO TELL AND THERE IS MUCH TO DO, BUT I CAN'T HELP MYSELF. I LOVE THE CALL OF THE OPEN ROAD, ERR TRAIL!
STRANGER THAN FICTION
EARL ELENDIL, IN HIS WISDOM, DECIDED THAT WE SHOULD, IN FACT, EXPLORE THE MAINLAND. WE TRAVELED AS FAR WAS WE COULD BY BOAT BUT IT WAS NOT EASY. LUCKILY URLAN IS VERY SKILLED IN THE WILD AND WAS ABLE TO SHOW US SOME OF THE MORE DANGEROUS THINGS IN A RIVER CROSSING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.
WHEN WE LEFT THE RIVER WE HEADED OFF OVER LAND. IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE WE FOUND SOME GOATMEN, UNLIKE THE GOATMEN BACK HOME, THESE ONES HAD THE HEAD AND UPPER BODY OF A GOAT AND THE LOWER HALF OF A MAN. THEY ATTACKED US WITHOUT WARNING AND WE WERE FORCED TO KILL THEM.
FROM THERE WE CONTINUED OUR JOURNEY UNTIL WE MET SOME HUNTERS WHO LED US BACK TO THEIR PLACE. THE MEETING WAS GREAT! THEY ARE MUCH LIKE US - SIMPLE FOLK WHO IVE IN VILLAGES AND WHO HUNT GAME AS NEEDED. THEY DID NOT SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE NOR WE THEIRS BUT AFTER SOME EFFORT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE BASIC COMMUNICATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE MAY HAVE FOUND EVEN BETTER ALLIES THAN THE GNOMES. THESE VILLAGERS EVEN KNOW OF OTHER VILLAGES NEARBY, SO WE CAN MAKE A GREAT MANY NEW FRIENDS!
STRANGE INVADERS!
WE HAVE BEEN WITH THESE PEOPLE FOR A FEW DAYS NOW. THE HEADMAN HAS BEEN KIND TO US, LETTING US STAY IN THE COMMON HOUSE FOR DAYS. WE HAVE TRIED, BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE ANYTHING IN TRADE FOR THE FOOD WE HAVE EATEN, NOR THE BEER URLAN HAS DRUNK SO LIBERALLY. THEY ARE A GOOD PEOPLE.
ON THE MORNING OF THE THIRD DAY THINGS WERE STRANGE IN THE VILLAGE AND WE RECEIVED WORD THAT WE SHOULD STAY INDOORS AND OUT OF SIGHT. THIS BOTHERED SOME MORE THAN OTHERS, BUT IT SEEMED THE POLITE THING TO DO. AFTER ALL, THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN KIND TO US AND NOW THEY ASK US FOR ONE SMALL FAVOR. GRANTING IT IS WELL WITHIN OUR POWER.
THE OTHERS GRUDGINGLY AGREE. IT SOON BECOMES CLEAR THE VILLAGE IS AWAITING A VISIT FROM SOME HIGHER POWER. IT TURNS OUT TO BE A HOLLOW ONE. HE LOOKS LIKE AN ELF, BUT STRANGE AND TWISTED IN THE SAME WAY THAT SIMON LOOKS LIKE A BOY. HE HAS TWO GOATMEN AND A WARG WITH HIM, HE RIDES A STAG THAT APPEARS TO BE FITTED FOR BATTLE.
THINGS GET HEATED. BYRON AND YTTERBY SPEAK ENOUGH OF HIS TONGUE TO MAKE OUT THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO KILLED OTHER SERVANTS OF THEIR MASTER. NOT FRIENDS OR ALLIES, OTHER SERVANTS; THAT MAY BE AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION.
THE HEADMAN SEEMS TO BE CONVINCING THEM HIS VILLAGE KNOWS NOTHING WHEN SUDDENLY THE ELF LOOKS RIGHT AT OUR HIDING SPOT. BEHIND US, THERE IS A SOUND, IT IS A WARG. THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WITH THE GROUP AND THIS ONE SEEMS TO HAVE SNIFFED US OUT.
THERE IS A BATTLE. IT DOES NOT GO WELL FOR THE OTHERS. WE TAKE SOME DAMAGE BUT IN THE END, WE ARE STANDING AND THEY ARE DEAD. WE ARE NOT SURE HOW BEST TO PROTECT THE VILLAGE. WE EXCHANGE WORDS AND SUGGESTIONS WITH THE HEADMAN AND THEN WE DEPART HEADING BACK FOR THE LANDS OF THE EARL WITH ALL DUE SPEED.
I FOR ONE AM GLAD WHEN WE REACH THE BOATS. NOT ONLY HAVE WE NOT SEEN ANYONE ELSE WITH A BOAT, BUT EVEN THE KEEN SENSES OF THE WARG WILL BE HARD PRESSED TO FOLLOW US ONCE WE'RE ON THE WATER.
REPORTING
I AM ALWAYS AMAZED WHEN MY COMPANIONS SPEAK WITH AND CONSIDER THE EARL. IT SEEMS THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE HELPING HIM MORE THAN HE THEY. THEY ACT ALMOST AS IF THEY ARE HIS EQUALS.
I HOPE HE DOES NOT CONSIDER ME AS I CONSIDER THEM. WE ARE HIS SERVANTS MEANT TO BE OBEDIENT FOR HE IS OUR LORD, THE GIVER OF LAWS AND THE KEEPER OF ORDER. I KNOW THAT SOMETIMES HE MAKES DECISIONS THAT SEEM STRANGE TO ME, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT HE KNOWS FAR MORE THAN I DO AND SO IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT HIS DECISIONS WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAT MINE.
I CAN ONLY HOPE THEIR INSOLENCE HAS NOT AND WILL NOT TURN HIM AGAINST US.
RIVER DEMONS
AT THE REQUEST OF HIMSELF, WE AGAIN TRAVELED NORTH TO EXPLORE. WE TOOK THE OTHER BRANCH OF THE RIVER THIS TIME AND MADE GOOD PROGRESS. WE WERE DOING WELL WHEN WE WERE SUDDENLY ATTACKED BY RIVER CREATURES.
NOTHING STRANGE, JUST TYPICAL TURTLES, OTTERS, AND STUFF. THE ODD PART WAS THAT THEY ALL SUDDENLY LEAPT INTO OUR BOAT AT ONCE AND STARTED ATTACKING. WE WERE ABLE TO OVERCOME THEM, WITH RELATIVE EASE BUT THEN NOTICED A GROUP OF GREEN MEN SWIMMING ABOUT. ONE OF THEM FIXED A STEELY GAZE ON YOUNG SIMON AND THE LAD SUDDENLY JUMPED OUT OF THE BOAT AND INTO THE WATER.
I QUICKLY SUMMONED A POD OF PORPOISES WHO BEGAN BEATING THE GREEN MEN ABOUT THE HEAD AND SHOULDERS UNTIL THEY WERE EITHER DEAD OR FLEEING. TWO OF THE PORPOISES RESCUED SIMON AND BROUGHT HIM BACK TO THE BOAT AS WELL. ONE OF THE GREEN MEN WAS CAPTURED BUT QUESTIONING HIM REVEALED LITTLE, SAVE THAT HIS PEOPLE LIVED IN SMALL TRIBES IN THE RIVER AND THE LAKE. THEY DID PREFER THE WEEDS OVER OPEN WATER, SO FOR OUR FURTHER SOJOURN WE STUCK TO THE OPEN PART OF THE RIVER.
WE MADE CAMP AND THE PRISONER ESCAPED DURING THE NIGHT. WE ALSO MET UP WITH A STRANGE CREATURE THAT SEEMED TO HAVE NO FIXED SHAPE. HE ASKED US TO HELP SAVE HIS FRIEND FROM THE HOLLOW ONES AND WE AGREED.
Selwin
We managed to rescue Selwin. It wasn't easy but luckily we did not encounter any actual hollow ones - their servants were tough enough!
Selwin is a strange man. He told us that he has fought against the old ones and their servants for years. He and some friends had begun using the area we found him in as a base. They drew attention and all his friends were killed and he was left to starve.
He had a curiously casual attitude about it, almost defeatist, like the death of his friends was unavoidable. I can't accept that. Of course there are bad things along the way, but the good and the true always win out.
I want to speak more with him to learn more about the strange land we find ourselves in but more to try to understand him and his strange philosophy.
Half Done
Turned out we'd only dealt with about half the miscreants on the mesa. We put the rest to the sword. It was a strange thing and I find I don't understand my companions as well as I thought I did.
Urlan remains Urlan, but the rest seem strange and wonderful at the same time. they are full of surprises, just like our new land.
We are heading home now and Selwin is, for the moment, coming with us. I look forward to talking to him during our journey. I hope he can tell me more about the lands, creatures, and plants of the area. I think we need to know more about them if we are to survive as a people.
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