18th day of Icetide 1977

After we uncovered the incriminating "evidence" of Lyman's part in the plot, Brock, a guardsman, insisted on getting other guards and arrest Lyman. He was very pushy about it, and at the time I was not sure why. After Brock left, Drock and Lydia ran off to warn Lyman.

We went back to the house and Lyman was not there. Drock read from Lyman's journals, and it was discovered that David died some two years ago. Well, there went that suspicion.

The guardsmen had searched the house, and, like I said, Lyman was not there. They took the granddaughter as bait to get Lyman to come for her.

We knew that David was dead, but apparently Brock didn't. He had claimed that he got a tip on the shop from David, that there was a note that was signed by David that gave him the info. We went to the courthouse to see this note and get any other data on David's whereabouts. As suspected, there was no such information. He showed us the note after a not-very-short time, however.

We left the courthouse, and Oscar gave the location of Brock's house to Drock and Lydia. They searched it for clues before Brock got back home.

After sleeping at Henrik's place, I had breakfast with the others at the Fishers' residence. Crespin's mom is nice, and his sisters seem to enjoy flirting with Mort with the sole means of bothering Crespin.

According from what we gathered from the journals, this Brock was really named Edgar, and was an adventuring companion of Lyman many years before. He must be after revenge for some reason.

After breakfast we went to Brock's place to capture him. Lydia went to the door, while Drock and Mort went invisible from that dust. Mort was to slip in past Lydia and Drock go through the window.

They beat him unconscious, tied and gagged him, and Mort carried him off after making him also invisible. He and Lydia then took him over to Lydia's contact. It's great, we got paid double what the city was offering for him.

Oscar gave the guardsmen a tip to Brock's house, which had the incriminating evidence against him, claiming that it was the divination of the church that the address was an important piece of the puzzle. So, the church got the 6000 copper reward. I had hoped to cash in on that as well, but this was probably the best course of action.

Lydia and Drock checked out the true address given by the church's divination. There was a body, a few months dead, stashed in a crate.

In the middle of the night, Drock and Mort played "haunted house", smashing the door open and making people wonder what was going on.

19th day of Icetide 1977

The haunted house ploy worked. The guardsmen were notified, and discovered the body of the true Brock. That guy, who we believe is Edgar, whom Lydia and Mort took to that guy had apparently killed him and taken his identity.

We went to hang out at the The Merchant's Last. As we were passing the time, eight guardsmen came in and told Chivalry that he was under arrest for the murder of James Taylor.

One of the guardsmen told Chivalry to put his weapons on the ground. He put one of them on the ground, but refused to relinquish his other sword. He then began to back up towards the stairs, sword drawn.

The sword that he retained was in the body of a skeleton in the castle that we went to. Schemdrick told him that it was cursed, and not to touch it. Chivalry didn't believe him, and frankly neither did I, but perhaps Schmendrick was correct in this instance.

The guardsmen rushed Chivalry. Chivalry looked at them like they were monsters, calling them demons. He stabbed one of them in the chest twice, wounding him. Another died by his blade. The remaining six were able to overpower him.

At the suggestion of Schmendrick, one of the guardsmen severed Chivalry's sword hand. The sword fell, the hand retaining a firm grip on it. Mort picked the sword up off the ground, using tongs from the fireplace. The hand yet still held on.

While Mort was doing this, Chivalry yelled over and over various things about demons. Wow, he sure has gone crazy. At the suggestion of Griswold, a guard knocked him unconscious.

Two more guards entered the room. They hauled Chivalry off to the prison. Mort carried the body of one of the guards (the dead one, obviously). The other had been healed by Schmendrick.

The sword was taken with them, but I cannot quite recall how they managed to do it. I was too busy wondering about the fate of Chivalry, and what sort of "friends" that Schendrick and Griswold are, giving suggestions as to better harm their allies.

Yet, I have to say that I probably would have suggested the same thing on both accounts. Not good to have one retain his sword to stab every "demon" in sight, and it is a lot better on the ears to shut him up.

And such is the life of an adventurer. We have been working together for some 16 days (since the 3rd), and we already own a lot more than we had ever had before. My sword and armor are worth a lot of money in themselves.

Drock, Mort, Schmendrick and I went downstairs within the tower. After a bit of sneaking around, we located some supplies that had been raided from caravans that had left the city. We had found the proof that these goblins did indeed raid our cityÂ’s merchants. We had already known this from previous interrogation of goblins, but we had found physical evidence of such.

We then found where a “meeting of the powerful” was being held. There were three big goblin warriors, three goblin shamans, and a big human in black chainmail armor that was conversing with them in their gibberish “language”. We had found Hugh! They were around a table, looking at a map or something.

Drock and Schmendrick ran off to get the others while Mort and I remained hidden, ready to attack if necessary. After some time, the others arrived. That was good, because I didnÂ’t really like the idea of fighting all of these powerful people with only Mort at my side. He is tough, but the odds were too great that I would get hurt or killed.

As we moved into position, Hugh looked up at me. Maybe he had some magic in the area that warned him, because I am very sneaky and it was not likely that he would have detected me. Being sneaky like I am has helped me many times to evade Slaine and his buddies. Slaine is a bully, and this Hugh is probably a bully, so a bully should not be able to notice me and my great sneakiness.

As he looked up, I had decided that our cover was gone and that I had to act quickly. I didnÂ’t even take the time to aim, as I was worried that we did not have the luxury of such. With my great skill I should have hit him in the face as I had meant to, but there must have been some magical protection in the area because I had missed.

Missed? Yeah, I know, it sounds impossible. It was the act of magic. How else could one explain that I miss? I have become one of the best archers in the land, maybe even the best in the world. I used to think that I was just “alright” with my archery. But I have observed the way that others fire a bow or crossbow, and I have come to the conclusion that what most people consider to be “good” is what I consider to be “amateurish”. I had never been so shocked in my entire life.

Griswold didnÂ’t miss a moment to unleash the magic that he had been preparing as we got into position. He let loose a massive energy blast that hit the table and all that were around it. It was a magnificent sight, such that in a way I wish that I, too, could use magic. Later when asked, he called his spell a concussive blast, or something like that.

Oscar was just as quick to act as well, letting loose the wrath of his deity as he burnt many of them with a blast of flame. He called it an explosive fireball.

At this time I had readied another arrow, aimed, and fired at a big warrior that was running my way. I would have hit him in the eye, but he ducked. Looking back, I had always shot targets that were either not paying attention to me or not aware that I was there in the first place. I had not realized that even the best of shots can be dodged or blocked against. It is a shame that someone would diminish the art of my archery with such a simple trick as moving out of the way in time.

While I was drawing my sword, knowing that I didnÂ’t have enough time to ready another arrow, the goblin warrior charged me. It slashed me with its greatsword as I attempted to dodge. It was a good hit, very painful. I was stunned by the pain only to discover that Oscar had touched my arm and invoked the power of his god and healed me completely.

Meanwhile, Vance had charged the warrior that was fighting me, slashing it viciously. It, in turn, slashed him and he was seriously wounded. Unlike me with my magical chainmail, Vance wears but leather armor. I do, too, but I wear it under my chain.

I slashed into the warrior with all of my might, and Pip came up behind it and stabbed it in the back of the head with his knife, killing it.

I then ran forward to engage another massive goblin warrior. It was getting up onto its feet as I hacked into it. I didnÂ’t hit as hard as I had the warrior previously, but I did hit with a powerful blow nonetheless.

The warrior returned the favor, and slashed me a good one. Ouch, that hurt! It was not as bad as the last time a few seconds before, but it was pretty painful. I had to make a decision. Do I press the attack, risking maiming and pain? Or do I let my friends down and back off and let someone that is less as skilled as I am attempt to battle this creature? I glanced back at the others, and I decided that they needed me where I was. I pressed on. The goblin and I exchanged more blows, defending such that neither of us was able to harm the other. After some time at this, I defeated it.

Finally, when the battle was over, Crespin came onto the battlefield, muttering something about how a hero should have been here. I have heard others mutter about my being a coward, especially from Griswold. But here comes Crespin, who is supposed to be a great warrior and hero. It looks like he was the coward this time.

Soon after my dispatching of the final goblin warrior, Hugh was killed by Pip. It looks like Mort had taken down two of the shamans and cut into Hugh pretty good before he had fallen unconscious. Pip had come to MortÂ’s rescue before Hugh was able to finish him off. It is funny, really, as those same voices that have muttered about my being a coward have called Pip a coward as well. And here we were, the brave heroes of the day.

Almost immediately after Pip killed him, HughÂ’s body burnt up with black smoke rising from what was his body. It was kind of neat to watch, and I had wished that I had brought along some marshmallows for the occasion.

Crespin, for some strange unfathomable reason, put on the gauntlets of Hugh and strapped on HughÂ’s sword to his side. I bet that they are cursed and that he will suffer some curse that will get him executed just like Chivalry.

We left the burning keep and went back to Tristan. We arrived only to have Mort taken into custody by the guardsmen. We were told that he was wanted for the kidnapping of one of the Thurston twins and the murder of the other.

Now, I have my own reservations against the Tristan guardsmen in general. They know that my family, HenrikÂ’s family, my best friend, Zaras, and my lover and ZarasÂ’ sister, Shadrii, had all gone missing. Kidnapped, it would seem. They are not very good at conducting an investigation. If anything is to be done, we have to do it ourselves.

If only I had met up with my friends earlier in my life, I would have been able to protect my friends and family from such a fate. At this point, I must remember my vow to find them. I must devote my life to recovering them, and sending my own form of justice to those that are responsible. If only the past few weeks had happened a few months ago, I could have saved Zaras and Shadrii. I think that I know who knows, but more on that in just a bit. Damn that SlaineÂ…

After conducting some investigation on our own, it became evident that Slaine was one of the witnesses that claimed that Mort was a murderer and kidnapper. Oh how I hate Slaine. I had not dared fight him before. He always had his friends with him, and I could never hope to fight him and his friends at the same time. But he was jealous that Shadrii loved me and not him, and he was afraid and jealous of my friend, Zaras. I would bet my life that he had something to do with their disappearance, and here he was going after my friend, Mort.

Slaine is my enemy. Slaine must die. Crespin beat up a bully to find that Slaine had left town yesterday. He isnÂ’t in the city anymore. That means that we can find him in the wilderness. I can kill him there and not be tried for a crime in doing it. As if it would be a crime to kill him. No, I must not kill him. Not yet. I must get information from him first. Maybe Mort can torture him like he did those goblins?

Oh how sick it makes me feel to think that I am so enraged with Slaine that I want to torture and kill him. But you must realize that he has stolen what has become family to me. He has humiliated me in the past as well. He is a bully, and he is not worth the air that he breathes. I donÂ’t care about the money that he has coerced from me, I want Shadrii and Zaras Fultano!

While I was brooding the Slaine situation, Mort, Vance, and Crespin had found those responsible for the crime. They had been brought to justice and Mort’s name was cleared. Slaine was not among them, but I have a feeling that I will see him again. Things have changed, however. I am not going to let him bully me any longer. I am different now. Powerful. I am a warrior.

Tomorrow the execution of poor Chivalry is scheduled. I don’t want to see him die, he was becoming a friend. He was found guilty of murder. It is so sad and a shame, really, but I must hide my true emotions behind the strength of the warrior that I have developed. No longer can I allow my emotions to control me.

We began another seemingly boring day in Midvale. Erik, our employer against the hauntings, gave us free breakfast. He also offered to sell us some magical items that he had bought. Some of them looked interesting, but they were way overpriced. 250 copper for a single magical arrow? Sure, it will Flame as the wielder wills it, but it only has one use. What a waste of money, he sure got jipped if he bought them in the first place.

A local named Jenny showed us where the ruins for what was once Fort Inassia. Or was it Urassia? Oh, I don't care. Only Schmendrick cares, as we are going there so that he can find something.

We searched through the ruins, and Mort kicked every skeleton that he could find. Seems like he is afraid that if he doesn't kick a skeleton it will get up and attack him.

We went to the basement level of the fort. There was a big, red bull that Schmendrick and Griswold had told us was magical in nature. I figured as much when I first saw it, just like the Red Bull from that children's story.

The bull left us alone, as Schmendrick had announced himself to it. He claimed that he had put it there. He is kind of nuts so maybe he did, but I figured that I might as well believe him on this one.

At one point the bull charged towards us, and then turned to a wall and ran through it. I decided to search where it went through the wall, maybe pick up a clue or something to help us find what Schmendrick had put here.

After a few minutes of searching, I felt some breathing on my neck. That bull again. I turned around, and for some reason I wasn't even afraid. I reached to its forehead to touch it, and it disappeared. It was then that I noticed the others had left to another room.

They were in a room that had a pentragram on the floor. Griswold pointed out that it is a common Celestine practice to put such a thing at some location in all of their fortresses. The others had started to gather into the pentragram and I decided it wise to join them.

It was a good thing that I did, as all but Schmendrick was in the safety of the pentagram. He went messing around with things, and then he disappeared from the room. At this point the bull started rampaging all over the place. He came back and it calmed down. He left again, and it freaked out again. Then he came back and we left.

Soon after we left the ruins, a man shot Schmendrick in the leg with a crossbow (what is it with crossbows always shooting people in the leg?). Pip returned the favor with a quick throw of a knife to the man's vitals, and the man used magic to disappear.

On our way back to Tristen, a man had hobbled near our camp. He had four arrows in his back, and he said that there were skeleton archers that did this to him, and that there was a cave nearby that had been recently filled with undead.

The group decided it best to get rid of the undead creatures so that they don't haunt the countryside any longer. The things these friends of mine will do just for the sake of doing good. Me? I'd rather further my own goals, not risk my handsome face for free.

We got to the caves and I gazed upon a large group of skeletons and zombies. This was the first time that I had ever faced undead, and it made me feel uneasy. They were creepy.

By time the group had decided to move in and take care of the things, I had gotten a hold of my composure. I drew my sword and went forward with the others, moving together so that we would form a line and protect each others' flanks.

Griswold announced our presence with one of his blasts of concussive energy. I don't know if he meant to, but he hit to the side of the group, missing them all completely.

The battle began. Most of them tried to overpower Crespin. As he went down under their efforts, five of them had decided to do the same against me. I had hacked one up a good bit, but they overwhelmed me. Even my great skill is no match for five at the same time.

For the rest of the battle, those five sought to overpower me, and I managed to evade their attempts to pin me, even though they had managed to get me onto the ground. Finally, it ended with them being blown to bits by Schmendrick. Apparently the situation was actually good, as I had kept 5 of them busy while the others were able to fight the others.

Still, I had done well, and I had proven that I could be brave even when those that I would consider brave would succumb to fear.