August 18th, 2006

After spending most of our day shopping and exploring, something that reminded me greatly of Bluet whenever we’d stop in a town between assignments, the most spontaneous tour guide ever approached us and offered to give us a free expedition around the city. Now, I don’t know what time it was but it was definitely getting late enough for us to be comfortably in bed.

The man, Johnny, gave us his big explanation on how great it was going to be and how happy we would be to go on it. He even mentioned that he could take us on a night tour, a day tour the following morning or both. Although it would be nice to have a tour of the city, I couldn’t help but wonder why he was so interested in us all of a sudden. I mean, we had already been in the city a few days and hadn’t been offered a guide until now. Why now?

It seemed I wasn’t the only one that was curious; Lydia found his offer extremely intriguing and, despite Mort’s constant warnings, convinced the whole lot of us to go along with this Johnny on a late evening tour. It was a stupid decision we made, really, but nothing terribly bad happened to us.

I found out that my good buddy Griswold destroyed Old Aerith; or at least that’s what the ghosts that haunt it seem to think. It was a rather interesting experience, actually. Johnny was leading us through the ruins of Old Aerith that lie at the bottom of the cliff to the side of Phoenix, when a ghost began to follow us as if it had never seen a living creature before. I can’t remember who it was but someone asked it why it was following us and it, ever so lethargically, pointed to Griswold and stated that the destroyer had returned. I was rather amused by this comment. After all, Griswold can’t seem to hit anything he aims for. How could this creature be calling him a destroyer?!

The ghosts didn’t find the humor in my observation as they, shortly after, began to gather around and point at Griswold in similar ways as did the first. One of them, showing much more personality than the others, even moved forward to throw a punch at my misunderstood friend. I don’t know what was more surprising, seeing the ghost attack Griswold or see the ghost throw the punch like he actually had weight to throw at him. I mean, I always assumed a ghost would just float up to its prey and touch it, sucking away its life-energy or something. I never pictured one trying to punch someone.

Griswold easily evaded, using one of his magical spells to displace his position. Afterwards, the ghost started to move toward him again making threats on his life. Griswold wisely ran away and entered the portal through which we came. After that, the ghosts left us alone. Oh, I almost forgot to mention; they referred to Griswold as Edward Grumby. Must be some family relation.

We decided that Old Aerith wasn’t the place to be and headed back up to the living city... well, sort of. The tour was extremely fascinating and I could swear Johnny’s entire aim was to make us feel like we wanted to live here. He almost convinced me but I just can’t get over the fact that this place is crawling with undead. I wonder if I know any of them.

The best part of the tour was the library. I know, I know; I’ve never been much for digging through books but this place was simply amazing. It seemed to have a book on just about anything one might want to know. Schmendrick even found a book that proved the triangle arrangement of peach trees really was a faerie ring. I couldn’t believe it!

I spent my time in the library reading up on the Snow Witch we encountered on our way to Redcliff. It said she was a powerful Trevenici spell-caster that fought against us Celestine many years ago. Her “heart” that we heard about before wasn’t actually a heart but a powerful artifact she used to augment her magical abilities. It’s even said she was able to create an entire region of snow in a tropical area. She sounds pretty impressive to me. Oh, Snow Witch is also just a nickname that us Celestine gave her. The Trevenici referred to her as something else a bit more respectful. For some reason, I can’t quite remember what it was they’d call her...

I slept much better last night than I did the previous one; I didn’t have a single nightmare. maybe I’m starting to get accustomed to this place.

Johnny came back to talk to us this morning. It turns out he has some work he wants us to do. His uncle accidentally summoned a demon and this guy wants us to take care of it. Apparently, it was summoned last night shortly before he approached us. That explains his desperate approach and offer. He must have been scoping us out trying to determine if he could trust us or not. Anyway, summoning demons is illegal so he wants us to get rid of it before the city does so he and his uncle can avoid whatever punishment that might befall them.

Mort and Schmendrick seemed to do most of the talking and negotiating with the guy, as usual, and I just sat back and watched. After a bit of discussion, we found out the demon can take on the form of an attractive woman with brown hair and is probably roaming the town getting ready to terrorize someone. I wonder how the undead would react? He also gave us some binoculars that will help us determine who might be under a magical disguise and a scroll to banish the creature.

We made our way down to the library and looked up some books on demons. Schmendrick located one that sounded like the one that Johnny mentioned; a large creature with goat feet and wings that could take on several other forms, usually women, and loved to cause mischief. This is going to be fun! Speaking of women and fun, Crespin won’t shut up about how he outdid Mort last night with a girl they were both after.

Shortly after leaving the library, we started to hear about several different brawls breaking out in different areas of the city. One of them had something to do with Phoenix’s legendary general, Bulfief, and a hole he made in the wall. That’s pretty much where our whole investigation began. Our first lead was an attractive woman with brown hair that gave off a shapeshifter’s aura.

We sent Crespin ahead to work his charm to see if we could get anything out of her but, only moments after approaching her, she was starting to get pretty upset with him. Mort salvaged the investigation and stepped in there playing the hero to her rescue. She bought right into it and quickly took to him. What did Crespin do that made her so disgusted with him?

We spent much of the day observing this girl and trying to figure out how long she’s been around. Mort got her to show him a different form from the first, which confirmed that she was a shifter but still didn’t prove she was a demon. After doing a bit of detective work, we found she’s actually been around for a few months and even has a personal stalker to vouch for that. The funny thing is, we didn’t seem to buy it because we continued to follow her around and even setup a plan to capture her, assuming she really was a demon. Of course, she seemed to be at all the different brawls so it made it fairly hard to fight the suspicions.

At the end of the day, Mort was to meet with her and try and get her up to his bedroom. In his bedroom was Schmendrick, who had created a pentagram, or something, to trap her in case she really was a demon. Mort had to get her on the bed, conveniently located above the magical symbol, and then move some covers that Schmendrick says would be preventing the pentagram from functioning. The test was if she could get off the bed once the ward was in effect then she wasn't a demon and she was free to go. Otherwise, she’d be banished. I wasn’t there but I’m told it all worked. Unfortunately, Mort didn’t get the action he was hoping for. I mean she was pretty darn hot in her other form she showed him.

After banishing her, Schmendrick brought up the most interesting news; she wasn’t the demon we were looking for.

Vance's Monologue:

I find my experience with these adventurers has taken me down a very different path than I expected. Even more, I’ve realized that my time in the military has taken away a bit of my personal identity. I was so accustomed to following orders and living the life of a soldier, I forgot who I was. I suppose it didn’t help that I lost everything personal to me since the destruction of Ethbar. Everything except my friends.

My new friends are truly remarkable people. So many of them appeared to just be normal kids with unrealistic dreams but they definitely aren’t anything close to normal. Crespin, for example, appears to be one of the most reckless fools you’d ever meet but yet, he continues to survive. I don’t know how he manages it but, with his luck, he may be a great warrior someday. He certainly shows great potential with his blades. He’s also fun to observe as he teases Mort. Without Crespin around, I think we’d all go crazy from boredom. He kind of reminds me a little of what I was like before my entire family was massacred by the Suul. Like me, he wants something more out of life than the regular routine. Our goals may have been different, but we both wanted to escape the realities that had been laid before us. We wanted something more unique.

Mort; now there’s someone with integrity. I admire that kid. His heart is completely in this work and I definitely see many great leadership qualities in him. He may be young, but he’ll be a legend some day. Looking back on the decisions he’s made, it’s very clear that he tends to do so with his long term goals in mind. For example, when he was being questioned back in Tristen about the murder, he was incredibly cooperative with the guards. He didn’t get all worked up and lose hope. He maintained his composure and then made some very intelligent decisions to remedy the situation. He didn’t run or try and find a way around the problem; he faced it, fully intending to clear his name and, more importantly, rescue the remaining sister. I’d consider Mort to be one of the most reliable people I’ve ever met. I’d follow his command with pleasure and honor were he my commander.

Kess is the most amazing archer I’ve ever seen. He was a bit of a coward at first, always avoiding direct confrontation with our enemies and shying away from tasks that might leave him in the center of danger, but has begun to show many signs of overcoming that. It seems to me that he never realized how much potential he really has but is finally beginning to discover it. Sure, he still has his cowardly moments but, for the most part, he acts as great support for the group. I never thought I’d say it, but I think his archery skills even exceed those of Mathis. Considering that Kess is just a kid and Mathis was an experienced hunter, such a comment means a lot.

Schmendrick is perhaps the most unusual of my new group of comrades. In the beginning, he appeared to be a ridiculous dabbler of magic that could hardly compare to Griswold. He’d mention silly stories of Fairies, cursed circles and peaches, cursed magical items, etc. The strange thing is, time and time again, he proves that he wasn’t too far off and is often correct. With time, I’ve discovered him to be incredibly wise and, strangely, I trust him better than most people I’ve met. He has a pretty interesting past, as well. I’m terribly curious to know how he lost his memory and why he’s being hunted. Based on how many people react around him, he sounds like he was once an amazing wizard.

Griswold has thrown me some pretty big surprises lately. I always saw him as a simple and stalwart battle-mage that preferred not to express himself. Since traveling with these friends of mine, I’ve found there’s a lot more to him. On countless occasions, he gets confronted by mysterious strangers, ancient species and ghosts that claim he’s someone that he isn’t. It seemed to be nothing more than coincidence, at first, but with such consistent encounters and his phasing out from time to time, I’m beginning to believe that he’s much more complicated than I previously thought. Needless to say, there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. Much like my curiosity over Schmendrick’s past, I wait for some interesting discoveries to reveal more of this man’s true identity.

Of the group, these are the most known to me. Pip and Lydia are also around but I rarely interact with them. I find it a little awkward to talk to Lydia when she’s always wearing that mask and I’ve never taken the time to get to know Pip. It could have something to do with the fact they both prefer to not be noticed.

I’m not entirely sure why I decided to write this. My friends are off hunting wyverns with Mort but I decided not to go. It also turns out that we never really fought that succubus and her giant bear, nor was there a ghost house in the second largest city in all of Phoenix. Ever since that discovery, I just can’t help but wonder what’s going on. Why did we all have the same dream? Was it some spell? If so, who cast it? What did it mean?

I suppose I just needed time think about my future; about who I’ll become. My current conclusion is that these are friends worth fighting for. These are people that will make a big impact on the Celestine Empire and I want to help them with whatever that might be. My archery skills aren’t anywhere near as excellent as Kess’ but I’ll do what I can where I can.

October 27th, 2006

First Day, 1977 FG

We recently entered Silothreni territory looking for Serena, the despicable witch that turned her mother into a wraith. Very few people speak Celan here. Those that do don’t seem to do very well, either. Oh, they tend to be pretty ugly, too.

We got a guide from a small border village that calls himself David. Of that village, he was one of the best with the language. Sadly, his Celan is worse than my Suul.

While the guide was leading us to one of their larger cities, I caught Mort actually making an attempt to learn the language. I couldn’t help but tease him about it. We should be encouraging David to learn our language, not the other way around!

After some traveling, we reached the city of Daganhold, or something like that. There were more people here that speak Celan than in the village we first visited. Thank goodness. I was beginning to worry that we were in a nation full of barbarians. Speaking of which, Kess seemed to share my concerns.

After pushing past the language barrier, this culture gets quite interesting. Many of them have tattoos, one of the reasons I presumed them to be less civilized. Contrary to my first impression, I found them to be very well-mannered. It’s kind of funny to watch them. Their common citizens are much more proper than the common Celestine; bowing, nodding, and the like. It kind of reminded me of being in my father’s court when he was attempting to prepare me to take over for him.

As the night wore on, things got a bit more interesting for each of us. I remember seeing Mort and Crespin competing over some woman in the back corner of the inn (Mort came out the victor) and even saw Lydia getting picked up on by a local. Kess and I sat at a table and attempted to communicate with a very fascinating female with translucent wings. She couldn’t speak Celan so I, ironically, attempted to speak with her using a few of the words I picked up from making fun of Mort. Such an attempt was fairly vain but David later came into the conversation and helped us translate a few messages more sophisticated than pointing at food while saying something like apple.

We learned that the woman, an Airinal, was from an island that had recently been destroyed due to volcanic activity. Her kind was now considered to be a part of the Silothreni and had tattoos just like everyone else. We learned a few other things from her but it was hard to understand David’s poor accent in such a noisy room. Apparently, there’s going to be a religious festival tomorrow night and it’s drawing quite the crowd.

Griswold came into the inn and tried breaking up Leah, the Airinal, and Kess by sitting in between them. Kess took it quite personally, of which I don’t blame him since Leah is more attractive than most everyone else here, and barked off some insult about Griswold’s age. The mage backed off and sat somewhere else. I thought that was a little rude of Kess but he soon got what he deserved. Shortly after, he let the most horrid flatulence erupt from his body that I’ve ever smelt in my entire life. It even had a yellowish tint to it.

The table cleared extremely quickly, including Leah, and many of us left the building. I got David to follow me and attempted to keep the conversation going with Leah. It would be quieter outside and I was still very curious. Not to mention the fact that she’s good looking. The language barrier, even though David was with us, made things a little awkward so nothing came of it other than casual conversation. I don’t think she was that interested in me, either. Up until Kess’ stunt, she was clearly more interested him. I don’t see why. He’s just a kid.

Next Day, 1977 FG

The woman that Mort and Crespin were competing over turned out to be extremely helpful for us. She’s a noble of the community and managed to arrange a meeting with Lord Dathan, one of the strongest military and political figures here. I felt a bit out of place when we met with him and chose to keep my mouth shut. I’m kind of regretting it now, though. There was so much I could have learned from him. Plus, his Celan was perfect!

Lord Dathan seems to be a very good man. He reminds me of Mort; very proper and respectful. More than that, the two seem to carry themselves in a very similar way. Were Mort a Silothreni and their physical characteristics set aside, I’d be willing to say that he’d be a young version of Lord Dathan.

Mort bluntly stated our purpose to Lord Dathan, relating our discoveries found shortly after eliminating the wraith. Lord Dathan was extremely receptive to this information and very supportive. He gave us some very useful information and is even going to send an official representative with us to give us the authority to perform an investigation. Apparently, this Serena is some psycho that lives far outside the community.

During the meeting with Lord Dathan, a large blue dragon favored our sight by landing in the courtyard not very far off from our location. A man, who we later found out to be Sujo, was riding the dragon. It was an amazing sight. I had only heard of dragons before but here was one right before my eyes!

The rest of the day was spent at the Festival of Light, as they called it. It’s an annual festival they have to honor the Gods giving us light. It was a most impressive experience. Of course, it helped that Lord Dathan had three magical translator amulets delivered to the group. I was lucky enough to get one of them for the time being. Understanding and speaking the language allowed me to much better live the moments as they were intended.

Speaking of living the culture, I ran into another pretty Airinal. Actually, I was looking for them now that I wouldn’t have to rely on David’s translations. She had some questions about the Empire and seemed to be very excited over the idea of finding a Celestine that could speak her language (or so she thought). I also had some questions for her.

I learned that her kind was once exactly like the Silothreni of the mainland but they were slowly changed through some sort of magic on their former island. Over the generations, their children spontaneously began to grow wings, resulting in what they are now. Many of them have magical abilities, too.

I wonder what it is that changed them. I wonder if such a phenomenon could be explained or even replicated. I might have to request that Griswold teach me the theory behind magic. This is simply too fascinating to ignore.

After exploring each other’s culture on the social setting, Deidre (the Airinal) and I decided to investigate each other on a more intimate level. I suppose she wanted experience my culture as much as I wanted to experience hers.