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| Journal Entries - Letters home to Mom Entry 1: Dear Mother, So much has happened since last I have written; I will do my best to catch you up. I was visiting father’s memorial in Hoert when I received a notice from my commanding officer instructing me back to Jordreich. The note gave me the impression that haste was required, and with all this dragon activity since Black Kalgalath has been rummaging around for gold, I wasted no time pushing my horse as fast as its hooves would go. When I arrived back at the military compound, or at least what is left of the compound since the attacks and desertions, |
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| I was told to clean up and meet with the Regent (formerly Chancellor Raelgar). After removing the heavy full plate armor of my order, I donned my dress robes and headed into a small dimly lit room filled with five other men sitting around a circular table. I recognized a few of them as various detachments of the army, but had never really seen or spoken to any of them before. It was an uncomfortable silence while we all waited around the table to see why we had been called here. After a few minutes more, the Regent of Jord; Raelgar, and the Captain of the Imperial Guards; Trent Kilgore entered the room and sat down before us. I had never been so close to the Captain before. It was an odd mix of emotions to see the half man, half ogre sitting only just a few feet away from me. I expected the thing to begin speaking in the guttural language of the ogres and drooling in a wicked grin, but instead he stood up strait, spoke with efficient language and seemed a very honorable man. Tales of Trent and his deeds are no secret to anyone familiar with Jordreich, but all I could think about as I stared at this man was the hordes of humanoids, orcs, goblins, ogres and bugbears that had been present during the raid on Hoert. The same raid that killed my father. I felt the fool shortly thereafter as I realized that I had been staring at Trent, and not paying attention to the Regent as he explained why he had brought us all to this place. The Regent was telling us that Black Kalgalath has not been idle since the foul beast attacked Jordreich nine months ago. The Dragon has been collecting gold throughout the west, regardless of where it is hidden from prying eyes. The strange part is that the dragon apparently allows his enemies time to run away before taking the gold from its owners. A strange creature indeed, and a mystery to all as to where and why it has come. The regent said that the men around the table had been hand picked for their various skills and talents to carry out a special mission for the kingdom. The mission is to find the long lost Kammerling, the hammer forged by Adon to strike down his brother Modru back in the days of legend. I can remember hearing that tale as a child while growing up, and can recite the verse in my hymn book by heart. The absurdity of what was being laid before us nearly had me laughing, and if not for the grim faces of all those around the table, I would have. The Regent, Trent and all the men around me were stone cold serious. The Regent continued laying down the plans before us while Trent listed the provisions that we would be given. Their words turned to meaningless noise as I began to contemplate what it was that we were being asked to do. Find the legendary Kammerling and use it to destroy the beast of legend himself; Black Kalgalath. I did not know what to say. Once the mission outline had been given to us, the Regent and Trent left the room to continue to prepare the supplies and notes that we would require to get us from one side of the continent to the other. It was then that I met my now traveling companions. Kip’Chek, a young and spirited lad who looked quite uncomfortable on his own legs was the first to introduce himself. He described himself as being a horseman from the Mang tribes to the Northwest, though I have no knowledge of his people. Kai is a quiet man who has yet to say more than two sentences strung together at once is still an enigma to me. He belongs to a division of the military that is designed for Imperial patrol of the city and the merchant class. It is hard to say what it is that he does, but I can only guess that he has had his ear to the wall of many meetings during his days. His eyes seem to hold the truth of secrets uttered long ago. Dorwin and Mordekai are two of a kind. They both seem to like the woods and outdoors more than they enjoy the walls of a good stout Inn, but possibly because of this they are a bit reclusive at times, Mordekai more so than Dorwin. My first impression of Mordekai was of a man who didn’t want to be part of this mission. I can’t really say that I blame him for that, but it seemed uncalled for at the time. Later I came to realize that he is simply one of those people who are not happy unless they are out doing something somewhere. His desire to be on with the mission outweighed his tact, and still does to this day. And last introduced was Rodez, our acting Captain. Rodez is from the mounted cavalry unit of the military and has a strange accent that places him somewhere to the northwest of Jord, perhaps even into the heavy trading cities by the coast. Rodez is level-headed, a good commanding officer and so far has been a good friend. Just after the Regent and the Captain left us to speak amongst ourselves, Rodez called us all to order and requested that we choose a captain for our mission. Knowing that my skills and talents would be severely taxed by taking on the burden of mission leader as well, I chose to defer to Rodez who seemed to exhibit all the qualities that we desperately needed at that time. Now that we had elected a leader, acting Captain Rodez restored the order of the room and we quickly began routing our passage for the first leg of our mission: to take thirty well trained horses from Jordreich to K’Char, the dwarf homeland. In K’Char, we would meet with Elindell who would provide us with the money from selling the mounts that would fund the remainder of our journey. We left the next morning to the Imperial stables. The ride to the stables was fairly uneventful. It was interesting to see Kip'Chek, who looked so bumbling and unsure when walking get astride his horse. It was obvious that he felt fully at home upon his saddle and was soon riding scout and rear. Kai kept towards the middle, feeling slightly out of place in the countryside instead of the town, but Dorwin and Mordekai seemed at peace once we left the city. Both of that pair would take turns keeping watch ahead of us. I stayed near Rodez and Kai and we all made our way as quickly as we could so that we would make the stables before nightfall. As soon as we arrived, Rodez had the other men secure quarters, stable the mounts and meet in the mess hall of the stable grounds. The two of us then went to the quartermaster to give him the proper paperwork that would put us in possession of thirty horses and two stable hands who would guide them on our long trek East. The Quartermaster, a stiff and guarded man took the letters from us, poured a strange purple concoction onto the letter that quickly dissolved and dissipated into the air. Seemingly accepting of the strange alchemical test he had just performed on the parchment, he told us to wait the night and first thing in the morning we would be given the horses and stable hands as requested. Rodez went off to get some food, but I stayed behind just a few moments longer, wanting to speak to the quartermaster or one of his men privately. When he seemed as if he had a break in his work, I approached him and asked him of the state of his clergymen of Adon. The quartermaster explained that their pastor had recently passed away and the small structure that had served as their church meeting room had been converted into a shrine to honor the All Father. Knowing that during times of great stress, like that caused by a hundred foot dragon destroying the world, would cause men to desire their faith more than anything, I asked if I would be permitted to hold a small congregation for the duration of my stay here. The quartermaster agreed and said that he would pass the word around his stable-town. I thanked him and headed to the mess hall to have a quick supper and then strait to the chapel. As I arrived to the chapel, I began cleaning it up and using my gifts bestowed upon me by Adon to raise the atmosphere of the place giving it a feeling of calm and warmth. Once that had been completed, I setup my traveling alter, pulled forth my traveling hymn book and began singing. After only a half an hour, the church began to fill with people who would sing the words if they knew them, and some would just sit and enjoy the feeling. I spoke to them of the tests that we are given by the All Father. When the sermon was finished, I sang to them again, leading those who knew the words or melody and administered to any who looked wounded or sick. I left the chapel late that night with a weariness that I hadn’t felt in many days, but a smile as wide as ever there had been one, planted upon my face. I slept fine that night to the rhythm of Rodez snoring in the common room. That next morning, today, I was given enough time to pen this letter to you mother. I will try my best to write to you as often as I am able to tell you of the adventures of our search for the Kammerling. I hope this letter finds you in fine health. I have made arrangements with the church in Jordreich should anything happen to me on this journey. Please don’t worry, as I will take great care of myself and those around me. Your son, Bryce. |
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| Bryce DeLavanedel, Cleric of Adon |
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| Entry 2: Dear Mother, I hope this letter finds you in good health. There is so much to tell you, and so little time to write this evening, I will do what I can to explain what has happened since we left the royal stables. With thirty well trained Jordainian horses in tow, my five companions plus two even mannered stable hands, Jail and Roneden, began traveling east toward the mighty dwarven hold called K’Char. The weather has been quite hot as of late, and I find myself sticking to my armor when I remove it in the evenings. The dust from the trail makes it difficult to breath, and the stench of the horses adds little to the appeal. What makes the trip bearable is strangely enough our good captain Rodez. Rodez has taken it upon himself to keep the spirits of the men up as well as keeping our minds on the track ahead of us. It has been difficult traveling in these now hostile conditions, but I will get to that in just a moment. We have found a strange cure for the feeling that plagues us all on this journey. The feeling that we are traveling halfway around the world on a fools errand, sent by a desperate man. The cure that we have found is that of gambling. Not much for turning the cards myself, I was late in embracing the activity, but have enjoyed its relaxing qualities as with everyone. Because the road is long and difficult to travel, the distraction of the games we play is welcomed indeed. Regarding the hostile conditions of the land, that brings me to a very difficult subject; that of the deserters. When Black Kalgalath began reigning terror upon the kingdom, the administration found that it could no longer pay their soldiers in any kind of currency for all the gold had been stolen by the black dragon. With no money to hold their loyalties, tales of soldiers turned bandits began to circulate throughout the area. I had not believed them true, but with what I know now, I am saddened by that turn of events. With thirty tired horses and caked dust on our faces, we approached the gates of the city _____. At first, they would not let us in for fear that we would attack the city, rob them of their money or trade goods and then flee back into the countryside. Thinking their story ridiculous, we attempted to gain entry by talking sternly to the frightened boy behind the locked gate. It soon became apparent that whatever had frightened this boy was worse than the threat that we proposed on him. Rodez then switched tactics and began using proof of his office to show the boy that we were not deserters and only wished passage through the city. Thankfully, it did not come to force, and the boy behind the gate, the only remaining member of the city’s guard, allowed us passage as long as we chose to go strait through the city and did not stay. As we walked the horses through the main street, I looked about me to the faces of the people inside. Burnt houses, soot covered brick and sad blood-shot eyes stared back at the others and me as we made our way through. I felt horrible for the people inside as I pictured in my mind the events that made possible the destruction I had witnessed. The betrayal felt by those who would allow fully dressed men of the Jordainian military into their secure walls held firm in a feeble attempt to keep the dragon at bay. Once inside the walls, those men who had sworn to uphold the law of the king and protect these very people, drew swords against them burning, pillaging and destroying the security which was already so very fragile in dark times as these. I felt betrayed by those who would wear the colors of the king and perform acts such as these, and I felt keenly the hurt that surrounded my comrades and I as we proceeded to leave the quiet, dark city that had once bustled with activity and laughter. No games or gambling was played that night. We all sat quiet with our private thoughts and reflected upon what we had just witnessed. That evening, while staying up on my watch, I caught the strange sight of an animal far in the distance beyond the circle of horses and the safety of the firelight. Afraid that a predator was looking for an easy meal, I awoke my party members and we proceeded to investigate the rustling sound and try to scare away the creature. But as I approached it, the animal had already taken flight. The creature’s calling card was a sulfuric stench that seemed to stick to the dewy grasses and dirt where the animal had been walking. I crinkled my nose in disgust at the animal who could hardly sneak up on any creature that had a sense of smell and proceeded back to the safety of the campfire to continue my watch. When morning broke, I informed our trackers of the strange smelly animal. Upon their investigation, it was confirmed that the animal had been a bipedal humanoid. One they had never seen or smelt before. Frightened of possible Orcs in the area, we made haste for the next city that stood in our path on the way to K’Char. As we continued upon the road to the East we were ambushed by men who were wearing the colors of the Kings Army. They used crossbows to attack us from afar and then sent forward men with short swords to stab at those who stayed upon their horses. Dorwin lept from his steed and ran to the men with crossbows in an attempt to stop them from attacking us at a distance while Kai, Mordekai and I dismounted to deal with the men with swords. I was far too distracted by my opponent to truly get an account of the battle as it happened, but I do remember facing off against a man who hadn’t shaved in weeks, smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in months and fought with the ferocity that the Jordanian army is known for. I knew I had the better of him, but my opponent was good at keeping his vulnerable spots closesly guarded from my mythral hammer. Just as I began to despair that this man might do me real damage with his sword, a dark shadow was cast upon the both of us. I looked behind me for only a split second, just enough time to narrowly step to the side as KipChek, still mounted on his war horse, barreled over my opponent. It was an amazing sight to see as the thin wiry boy, his one lock of braided hair flying wildy about his otherwise shaved head trained an arrow directly at the man and fired true. Then KipCheck guided his mount with his knees and the horse attacked as well. The first hoof connected with his shoulder crushing his collarbone, the next pushed the man to the ground and the crunching sound of ribs snapping was all that remained of the already wounded man who had been my opponent. I looked up to KipChek and saw him smile proudly as he trained his arrow and eye upon his next opponent while his well trained war horse pursued its next victim. With KipChek and his horse on our side, the battle was finished in only a couple of minutes. Seven traitorous deserters lay dead upon the road, their plans to ambush us and steal the horses banished. Few of my companions had received wounds, and only Dorwin’s were serious, bless Adon, and I was quick enough to heal them using my gifts. When we had all time to talk, it was discovered that one of the deserters had run from the battle heading off on a trail to the north. With the Captain still injured and needing rest, I sent Kai off to follow the man and report what he had found. I remember looking down at the torn and bloodied men before me. None of them had blinked an eye at trying to run us down and steal our horses for profit. None of them had asked our surrender or begged for food or aide. I have been on many campaigns in my life, and have been present in only a few battles, all of them with humanoid creatures such as goblins and orcs. I had never before taken the life of a man until that day when I was forced to do so, or face my own demise. The sickening crunch that ended my opponents life had not been dealt by my hand, but if KipChek had been only seconds later, it would have been. I would not have restrained myself. I felt sick. Perhaps it was my grief, or my self doubts that we had done the right thing. Perhaps it was simply that I didn’t know what else to do, but I went to my pack animal, removed my metal spade and began turning the earth in preparation for burial of the men who we had just killed. Mordekai came over to me while I was digging and asked me what I was doing. I couldn’t really explain it to him at that time. A fitting death for an insubordinate who has deserted is to be hanged till death, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had never been put in this place before. With no opposing word from our acting captain, perhaps he understood how I felt, I began burying the deserters and blessing their graves in the name of Adon. Mordekai gave me a strange look, but perhaps he sensed my mood as well, for he went to his pack, produced a spade, and proceeded to help as well. When the bodies were properly covered and blessed, Kai returned to the battle scene to tell us that he found a small watch tower beside the road with more deserters inside. We chose to double our watch and keep tabs on the tower as well as our own camp. Moving away from the scene of the battle, we slept in preparation of the day ahead. We had decided to attack the deserters so that they could hurt no one else. I had horrible nightmares that night and found that sleep was very difficult to come by. By morning, I was up and ready quickly. I knelt down to pray to Adon for the power needed to combat these men, and was filled with the warmth of his power once again. As soon as Mordekai returned from his guard of the tower, we sat down and planned out our strategy with the newly healed Captain Rodez. After having helped scavenge for brush to tie to the armor of those infiltrating the tower, I was given enough time to catch up my journal and prepare for the evening ahead. Wish me luck mother, I have the feeling that I will need it this night. Your son, Bryce |
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| Entry 3: Dear Mother, I hope this letter finds you in good health, and good company. I am sorry to keep you in suspense over our last escape to raid the tower, but it couldn’t be helped. That evening while preparations were being made, Captain Rodez asked our two animal handlers to maneuver the horses around the tower, but far out of bowshot. If the bandits came out to attack, we would have them. If not, we had something else in mind for them that evening. The horse handlers, led by Dorwin, continued on their way as the rumble of many hooves could be heard in the distance going further away from the tower. As soon as night fell we began our siege upon the tower. KipChek and I stayed out of sight of the tower while the others crept up close under the cover of night and the false camouflage we made from grasses near the area. Kai, carrying a grappling hook and rope crept to the side of the tower and flung it toward the crenalations at the top. His throw was far to short and it hit against the side of the tower. The sound of metal against stone would have awoken the occupants and alerted them to our attack, but I had enchanted it with a magical property preventing sound from escaping around the grappling hook. Thankful for the foresight of the enchantment, I quickly gave the sign of Adon and wished luck upon Kai that his next toss would be closer to the mark. Thankfully it was. The grappling hook silently attached the top of the tower and Kai began to climb the rope steadily. I was too far away to see anything else of the initial attack, but soon I was able to barely see the outline of Captain Rodez and Mordekai as they made their way to the top of the tower and inside. I could feel KipChek beside me growing tense as our part of the plan came closer. We could hear no sounds from inside and were surprised when the front door to the tower flung wide open. Recognizing our signal to advance, I began running strait for the tower door. It wasn’t until then that I realized just how difficult it is to run in full plate armor. When I finally reached the tower, I found the situation in the front room fully in hand, so I hurried up the stairs into the darkness of the second story. The second story was so dark in comparison to the bright of the ground floor that I stumbled into the room fearing an attack from an unseen opponent. Thankfully Rodez, Kai and Mordekai had apparently taken care of any opposition that lay on this level, so I continued up to the top. When I stepped out into the moonlit crenellations of the tower, I immediately felt the enchantment of the grappling hook about me canceling all sound. I found the hook and tied it up replacing it into my pack when I nearly stumbled over a fallen man lying upon the roof. Forgetting that this man was a traitor, forgetting that he had committed the horrible crime that I had witnessed first hand in _____, I knelt down to what I saw as a defenseless, unconscious man who was about to die and called upon the powers of Adon to save his life. The powers of life flooded through my fingers and into the wounded man closing his wounds and stopping the flow of blood from his body. Beneath my fingers, I could feel him sucking in air and regaining lost strength. When the spell had run its course, I looked down at the still unconscious man and wondered at what I had just done. I had just saved the life of a known criminal. Someone who had purposely attacked us and should I let him go, would probably do the same again. My head hurt from the turmoil that pressed against itself inside my mind, what was I doing allowing this man to live. I know that as soldiers of the Jordainian army we could never allow a murdering deserter to leave this place alive. I shook my head to clear the hurt and simply gathered up the unconscious man and took him down the stairs to my companions for a consensus. When I entered the brightly lit room, I purposely avoided the scrutinizing eyes of Mordekai. I carefully set down the unconscious man and looked about the room to see that one man lay dead as if in a peaceful sleep, while two remained alive and unarmed. I informed my companions that the man on the top of the tower was unconscious, but they were busy questioning the only man awake who could speak for the deserters. He was a stout man in his late twenties sporting a full beard stained with food. He wore only his underclothing and was very frightened indeed at the men who he recognized as his executioners. Thankfully the questioning was performed quickly, as the man foretold his own fate. Once we had learned that the men here were all that was left of the deserters in the area, I stepped forward to offer my opinion in the matter. The men were to be hung for treason, there was no question to that, but I wanted to give each man a chance to repent for his misdeeds in the face of a cleric of Adon before he was sent off. The indecision, which had plagued me upon the top of the tower suddenly evaporated. It was not my choice that sent these men to the afterlife, it was their own. My part to play in this was to do everything in my power to shrive them of their sins against Adon, and then send them to the afterlife where they might once again walk the clouds of heaven. Once each man had been woken, cleansed of his misdeeds and healed by the powers of Adon, we formally gathered upon the top of the tower to perform the execution. Each man was given a sign to hang around his neck and a rope was then placed over their heads and tightened. I gave a small prayer in silence as Mordekai, Kai, Rodez, KipChek and I pushed the men off the tower only to be caught short by the rope hanging around their necks. The deaths were quick and this tower would now serve as a warning beacon for any who should pass by. Written upon the signs hanging around each neck of the traitor were the scrawled letters D E S E R T E R. That night I slept without the nightmares that had plagued me the previous night. I still was not thrilled with the concept of having to kill humans, but my place had been decided and I felt comfortable performing my duties in that capacity. Upon waking the next day, I prayed to Adon for his divine power to course through me, and found that not only had my prayer been answered, but also he had instilled more power to me. In his eyes, I had achieved a higher place and duty to him. I was pleased and prayed that I would do well with his gifts and continue to grow the powers I could feel inside of me. We traveled that day to the meeting spot where we would find Dorwin and the horses. But they were not at the pre designated camping spot that we had agreed upon. Worriedly, we continued on the road hoping that no harm had come to them. As the sun was beginning to set that day, we found them camped a ways from the road. A shallow grave had been dug and both Jail and Dorwen were pale in the fading sunlight. We asked them what happened and were told a story of how Roneden had been staying up at watch but was mauled by the same creature that I had spotted days ago. It was impossible to say if it was the same animal, for we had crossed a river since then, but the same lingering stench that accompanied the first animal was present with this as well. Dorwin seemed upset that he had not awaken to the sound of struggle as Roneden was killed, and Mordekai helped little by calling him derogatory names when he wasn’t present. Not wanting to camp in the same spot, we quickly gathered the horses and proceeded further east until we could no longer see where we were going and camped. The following few days of travel went along quickly. We slipped back into our routine of gambling at night and silence by day. Kai still had said fewer than a mouthful of sentences, and both Mordekai and Dorwin were hardly seen during the day. Captain Rodez, myself and the silent Kai all would watch as the endless energy of youth known as KipChek would abound around the horse herd as nimbly as if he were dancing upon his steed. He spoke in a strange halting language that he would only utter to his mount. When asked what he was doing, he would only explain that he was speaking in Mang, the language of his people. It sounded more like a series of clicks and whistles. It is hard to tell when KipChek is being serious sometimes. The following day, we came upon a walled town known as _______. The gate was securely barred and we were denied entry. The Captain merely shook his head in disgust that the efforts of the deserters had cost the kingdom of Jord so much. I stepped forward to the gate and implored the man to allow us entry to the town so that we could restock our foodstuffs and have a warm meal. He turned me down and when I attempted to press the matter further, he fired an arrow at me! The arrow landed between the plates of my armor and stuck out my thigh. The pain was minimal, and I knew that I could repair the wound magically, so I attempted to continue and received an arrow in my other theigh as a response. I was angry then. Angry at the man who was firing upon a cleric of Adon, angry that the deserters had earned any soldier of Jord the reputation as a thug and criminal, and most of all, angry that nothing I could do would change this man’s mind. So I lowered my head in disgust and shame and rode back to my companions out of arrow range. As I came back to my companions, KipChek let out a cry of defiance and rode to the gate screaming in his language. Arrows began to follow his every move and the men shouted on the wall that we were attacking, though it was truly only one man. I watched the strange little warrior as he dove between shots and made his way directly under the arrows so that the men above him could no longer fire down upon him. He then stood up on his horse removed his trousers and began urinating on the wall! My companions and I all stared at the spectacle of open defiance and almost childish petty and slowly began to chuckle. KipChek, finished with his marking, made his way back out of arrow fire having been hit by two arrows, one in his thigh, and one in the shoulder. But as he approached, instead of wanting to heal his superficial injuries, I instead chastised him for his actions that could have nearly gotten us all involved and asked him if he was sane. KipChek merely shrugged his soldiers and went off with a strange hurt expression on his face which was quickly replaced by his usual boyish smile as he remembered the mark he left on the city gate. Later that day, when we had a chance to talk, I rode next to KipChek and asked him why he had gone to the wall knowing that all it could do was to raise the ire of those inside. He looked me strait in the eyes and told me that he had done so because they had fired upon me. I looked back at KipChek, who I had always regarded as a boy of exuberance and realized for the first time that he was not really a boy, but a man. His actions, though strange to me and my culture were preformed because the men inside the town had slighted my honor, and KipChek had simply evened the odds with his marking. I smiled at KipChek and thanked him sincerely. With my hand on his shoulder in a symbol of camaraderie, I called upon my powers from Adon and healed the small wounds he had suffered from the arrows. My gift to him seemed inadequate compared to what he had given to me only hours before. The last few days have been filled with travel. At night we gamble with eachother still, and during the day we carefully watch the horses now that Roneden is no longer able to help Jail. Tomarrow we shall be entering the last human settlement before reaching K’Char. We hope to resupply and then head into the dwarven hold to collect our money and then to continue our journey. Take care Mother, Your son, Bryce |
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