Journal of Orin Hale

[DeadHead Fred]

*date*

Well, this is a change.  After receiving a great deal of teaching from Ke'emanohu, I felt ready to assist him in tending to those who need aid near Port Hampshire.  That night, I had a dream... or so I thought.

I dreamed of a Dragon calling me, putting me to work in the fight against Blood.  It was a strange dream, and it seemed so real.  After wandering around a forest, I found myself before a statue in front of a curtain of light.  Then I awoke.

I was not in my bed.

I found myself in Hlint, with only the clothes on my back.  I thought the Dragon was a dream, but I found myself in Hlint, and I am certain that I had not walked there.  My leg hurt like it usually does now, but not like it would feel if I had traveled the hundreds of miles between the Port Hampshire area and here.  I guess whether or not the Dragon was a dream is moot.  I am here, and I must find a way to aid people here.

Hlint seems to be rather busy right now.  I have seen a number of adventurers here, more than I have seen anywhere else.  In the old days, my band and I avoided Hlint for this reason.  There was too much risk in working here, especially as the merchants did not have much gold compared to other areas.  

*stops to reflect*

It saddens me to think how I lived my life before I felt the touch of the Lifegiver.  I injured and killed so many, when I could have helped so much.  I can only hope now that the aid I can give to others with help offset the hurt I caused to so many.

I have been able to provide aid to people passing through Hlint, but I have not been able to establish a position here.  I think that I might be able to travel with someone to provide aid to their group, but I haven't found such a group yet.  I only hope that if I do end up doing that, that my injured leg will let me travel and keep up.

I have met a few people here that have helped me.  Tegan, a spellcaster of some sort, helped me get some records out of the sewers.  A lady, Addison, gave me some food when I first arrived here.  I also met a couple of other healers of Aeridin: Jin Lun Lee and Alleina.  We made an interesting party, with Tegan again.  We went into the crypts here, and returned some undead to their graves.  Neither of the healers wanted any of the gold the undead had had.  I myself no longer desire gold like I did in my earlier life.  I will find a use for this gold, but it will help others, not myself.  Hopefully, I will find some group to settle in with here and make myself more useful.  

I felt no remorse at the killing of the vermin infesting the sewers.  Is that wrong?  The rats there spread disease.  Maybe this is one of those situations where providing aid requires some harm.  This seems a very slippery problem, and I will need to be careful.  Aeridin teaches protect and preserve life, and not to harm others except in the most dire circumstances, such as self defence.  They were attacking me, but had provoked them?  Harming others to protect yourself may be a dire circumstance, but it doesn't really apply when you purposefully provoke them so they attack you.  

*puts journal back in pack*

[DeadHead Fred]

*sits on the closest bench to the Wild Surge Inn and props his leg up, then fishes out his journal*

*date*

I had an interesting time in the last couple of days, though I will pay for it now.  Asking around town, I have found some things to do.  The local postmaster has been paying for deliveries of items, and asked me to take something to Rilara for him.  Rilara!  I should have said no, but I wasn't thinking clearly at that moment, apparently.  As I thought about it right afterward, I thought my leg might be able to make the journey, if I took it slowly and rested often.

So I headed out for Fort Llast, where I could meet the north-south road to Port Hampshire.  The hills between Hlint and Fort Llast were my first challenge.  I made it over them, but my leg was throbbing when I reached the Fort Llast gates.  I saw the lights of a bandit camp in the hills.  I wonder if I know any of them...

In Fort Llast, I rested and talked with a few of the locals.  There was a mage who wanted will 'o wisp essence.  I have no idea what that is.  I thought will 'o wisps were lights that flit about in swamplands, or so I have heard.  Just travellers' tales, really, not something real, so how can I get essence of them?  Perhaps I will figure this out and be able to help this mage.  There was also a lady named Juanita who needs something called vulkas oil, another item I have never heard of.  Lastly, the head of the town guard, Lieutenant Jursen, needed a number of items for their armory, so he could train the guard.  I was able to find a good use for the crypt gold this way, but I used it all up before his armory was full.  I rested a bit more, then continued on my journey.

It seemed strange to walk into Port Hampshire in plain view.  I was afraid that the town guard would recognize me and turn me away, or worse.  But they just looked at me in my robes of Aeridin and waved me through.  I suppose my looks have changed somewhat during my ordeal, but I think the guards just saw my robes and nothing more.

Otherwise, the trip was uneventful, just long and slow.  I eventually made my way back to Hlint, where I could really rest.  So when I woke up today, my leg felt as mobile as a wooden log with spikes driven into it.  With much massaging and stretching, I was able to at least hobble around.  I will look on the bright side, though, and note that the pains are of an overworked limb, and it doesn't feel like I retore the muscle and sinew.  I think it is stronger now, but I will have to work it gently to get it moving fully again.  Time will tell, I suppose.

*pauses a while to reflect*

Perhaps if I can prove my worthiness to the Protector of Life, my leg can be fully healed.  This may be only a dream because of all I have done in my life, but I may somehow find a way to prove myself and redeem in some small way my previous mistakes.

*puts journal back in pack and continues massaging and flexing leg*

[DeadHead Fred]

*fishes journal out of pack*

*date*

As it appears, Hlint is haunted.  

Or to better explain it, the graveyard in Hlint has a series of crypts where, for whatever reason, the dead frequently rise.  They aren't particularly powerful undead, but their rising seems to happen with quite a bit of consistency.  From what I can tell, though, they stay underground, which is good for the town.

We undertook a small journey into the crypts to recover something called "darksoul essence".  Accompanying me was Tegan the sorceress, another healer named Jin, a bard named Ifion, and some sort of warrior named Tyrian.  Come to think of it, Tyrian also had a fire breathing dog with her.  I had done this before with Jin and Tegan, so I was not too surprised at what was down there, but I hadn't quite expected the dead to keep rising the way they do.

The trip down and back was uneventful.  However, when we got the darksoul essence, Ifion told us not to give it to Erag as we had done before.  Ifion said he was a follower of Corath, and thus Erag's motives and desires were highly suspect.  I had previously helped him get some essence, and now feel ashamed if I had helped him.  I should have suspected him, based on the way he was acting.  I have a spell from Aeridin that will help me tell who follows what god.  I shall have to be more careful in whom I help.  Though Aeridin teaches to give aid where needed, I shall have to judge more carefully when it is needed.

After the crypts, I helped Tegan do something she needed - get a cougar pelt.  I will discuss this later.  We had Ifion, Jin and Tyrian again, and our party gained another spell caster named Eric, and a warrior named Lilly.  We headed south towards Fort Velensk.

We went through the Broken Forest, an area I had always avoided because of the undead there.  We were able to put them to rest without too much trouble.  In the center of the forest we found a grave and some strange device next to it.  I know nothing about this,
but Lilly said the grave was that of Shadow, a lover of one of the Seven Sisters of Lucinda.  The undead are here to protect the grave. She said Triba knows the full story.  I shall have to look this Triba up some day and learn the story of the grave.  I am sure it will be interesting.

The other item of interest on this trip is the cougar.  I was under the impression we were getting Tegan a pet, but apparently we were getting Tegan a pelt.  It seems shameful to kill the cougars just to get a pelt.  We were not defending ourselves or anyone else.  We attacked them without cause.  

I have pondered this and think that my duty to Aeridin requires I give aid to people who need it.  I can provide healing and comfort for those who I travel with, but I will not assist them in killing other life.  I can use the magic granted me by Aeridin to protect them, but nothing to aid their killing.  However, there are things that are not alive; the undead, magical constructs, and such.  For these, I see no problem in destroying them by any means.  

I still have a few problems here.  What about animals like the rats in the sewers, or other vermin?  I think these should be eliminated also.  And how about things I have heard of such as demons, that are not of this world?  They cannot be part of the cycle, since they do not belong here.  I think it would be acceptable to destroy them also.

I shall have to pray about these things and ponder what I know.  Hopefully, Aeridin will provide me guidance.  In the mean time, I shall have to do what I perceive to be best.

Just one more item of personal interest - my leg is much improved.  I still have a limp, and it hurts frequently, but walking long distances does not cause it to throb so painfully.  I shall continue to stretch and massage it as I have been doing.  

*puts journal back in pack*