Journal of a travelling poet

[Meizter]

Skarp told me of a dream today, an odd dream. He dreamt he was a bear and he was in a cave with other bears back on Krashin near our home. The bears felt something outside the cave, something evil and powerful, and so they joined into one being and charged it. I think it is time we go to Krashin soon. Something must be stirring, just lately I heard a man talk of a dream like this and about a beast that once had been banished that was returning. Skarps dream is probably a premonition of this. Skarp of course wants to go and wage war on the Egilsons as well and he thinks the evil is them, but I am of a different opinion. I think the dream means we must unite and put our differences aside to save our island. Skarp will never agree to fight alongside an Egilson but I fear there will be little choice if we want to keep our home safe. Unless, of couse, that the evil is something brought by the Egilsons, perhaps to aid them in destroying us. I need to find out more of this creature and the banishment. That Skarp has the dream must mean we are connected to it in some way…good or bad I don’t know, but I intend to find out. We must gather a group of reliable people and make haste to Krashin.

[Meizter]

I should get to work on the play of Leilon really. The one I promised Hermie and Ma in Leilon to make. I don’t think I ever have written this down, but some time ago Rolf asked me to meet him in Leilon. We were a bunch of us who gathered there and he told us that he was trying to find out who his parents were. He believed them to be clerics of Mist for he had been found after a shipwreck wrapped in the blue cloak of a priest of Mist 25 years ago in the month of Junar. Oh how he was mistaking, but I guess I should write things as they happened.

They had tried to get the dock records of ships bound for Krashin but had not been very successful at all. Burr had even hit the old man who kept the records in the head knocking him out cold. I am amazed I never thought he would do anything like that, but perhaps it is somewhere in all of us. Still we decided for a more gentle approach. Ayla and I would enter the archives and ask to see the records claiming to be making research for a play of Leilon and its past.

We got in easily enough and an old woman greeted us and was very helpful. She told how her husband had been mugged in the record hall not long ago by barbarians. Yes that must have been Burr and the others, damn them for that, mugging an old man. Still she was very kind and when we told of the play and that we would like her husband Hermie in it she offered us to stay for some tea and present this news to him ourselves. We could not decline but Hermie did not seem very keen on it, but luckily Ayla was there to convince him. Oh my how he could tell, he kept on and on about how he was mugged by fierce barbarians. I think it is the only story he knows, but I’ll see how I can get him in the play. I am sure he is more capable than he lets people think. He sure seemed smart enough when we had to discuss his salary for the play, potions for his aches, 1000 coins and my amulet of Eagle’s Splendor. A tall price for that, but he seemed happy and liked to tell his tale to Ayla, so after about an hour I went down to check on Ma and the records. She found what I needed after a bit of talking her into it. It seemed only 3 ships were bound for Krashin that month that I was interested in, and only one of them came here from Leilon, the Linnbird, a small ship with 19 crew and 3 passengers which I got the names of.

Rolf enquired about the names at the temple of Mist and got some information and after a bit of discussion at our Blackford residence he went back to the temple again to find out what some markings next to the name that had to be his mother meant. Skarp said she probably was a harlot which was out of line I think. Just because the numbers with her name seemed like birth dates it did not mean she was a harlot…but I guess he had some truth in his words.

But that is Skarp I guess. We also had quite the discussion of revenge while waiting for Rolf. I know we shall seek revenge but why does he want to kill everyone. I don’t see how that will solve anything; there is not honour in killing the defenceless. But I will not go into this again, it will soon enough surface when we travel to Krashin.

Rolf found out that a lady in the less fashionable part of town had known his mother Hillow, and she should still be alive. We found her indeed and when she opened the door I thought it was a brothel and Rolfs mother had worked for her so heavy was the smell of perfume from the inside. Well the thought was not far from the truth. Hillow had indeed lived in Leilon; she had had a hard life with only a little love and much bad luck. She had opened a home for sailors and had gotten a child with several of those who had spent time there. Rolf’s father had been a bit unlike the others, but still in the end he had left her as they all had. I think Rolf hated his father when he heard that, and I think perhaps he was even ashamed of his mother, she was no priestess of Mist but a girl housing sailors…and well...sleeping with them. He has 6 siblings in fact, quite a lot really, and they are all spread all over since their mother died. I wonder if he will ever try and find them, perhaps he will but I guess only time can tell. More likely he’ll go in search of his father to have a word with him, perhaps even revenge for leaving his mother like that.

But still this has given me a thought. It is saddening that such things happen to children and I have put much thought in it. I will find the money to build an orphanage for such unfortunate souls. I know it will take immense amounts of money, but I will try and raise them. It is a good cause and many will probably donate to such work. I think Skarp will help me with this, he may seem so hard at times but he still is a good man. Well I should not get carried away, I still need to find the money and the 8000 I have in the bank will not do much good.

[Meizter]

It has been many weeks we have had to hide our orc forms now. It is lonely not being able to go out and talk to people, but at least I have had Ayla to speak to. She is such wonderful company, understanding and caring and always seems to have time. I really like her…no it is more than that…when she is around I feel calm and at ease. Skarp keeps bugging me about that I should go and tell her how I feel, but I dare not. What if I ruin what friendship we have? I am not good at these things really…I wish to tell her but I lack the courage. I don’t think Skarps efforts to help really do help, for honestly I don’t think Ayla likes him very much. He is too, how to put it, crude, I don’t know really. He just says stupid things sometimes, like when we were in the house and he said she was my fancy girl, as if she was just something I fancied for a while for then to throw away. I could never do such, never for she means much more to me, cursed if I only had the courage. But does she like me? It is also a question I need to ask myself, others whisper in my ear that it seems so, but is it true, or are they just saying so to make me feel better? I will go to the temple of Aeridin soon and do as Ayla told me. I will sit there and listen to the woods and see the world around me, see life in all its splendour. Perhaps then I shall know what to do, perhaps I will find the courage to really tell Ayla what I feel for her.

[Meizter]

I went to the temple of Aeridin in the Vale today. For a while I just sat there with my eyes closed, listening to the world around me. Then suddenly it was as if words swelled up inside me and I for the first time in my life prayed. I prayed to the Lord of Life as I called him. I don’t know if it is right to call him such, but it was the word that came to me. When I close my eyes I can still hear my prayer within my head, as it echoes deep within me.

Blessed Lord Aeridin
I know I am perhaps not the best man
I have killed countless beings
I have hunted those that only was rumoured to do wrong
I come here now as I feel my life ebb
As my life fades like the evening sun I come to you with my prayer
And why do I come you wonder...
I come to seek refuge from deaths cold hands,
To find life....
I try to do what is right but sometimes I question my actions
Am I just a barbarian as the people of Leilon would call me?
Am I a brute and a killer.....?
I have been perhaps...
But hear me Lord of Life
I am sorry
I know what pain death causes
I am no cleric nor wise in the ways of gods,
But I come to you now, as in your teachings I have found something other than a life of combat
I will try to honour you in my actions,
But bear with me, for combat runs deep within me
I shall do my best Lord Aeridin,
So that one day you perhaps will look favourably upon my soul...
I only beg you one thing oh Great One...
Take care of those I love, of those that mean so much to me
And take special care of Ayla for she is someone so very special, and do you great honour...

There it is, I couldn’t help but write it, it is perhaps the most deep-felt words I have known in a long time. I know I can’t expect an answer from a god, but still in some way I got that, the calm that came to me was more of an answer than any words or manifestations could ever be. I felt within me that it was the right thing I have done, and I shall swear my allegiance to the Lord Aeridin, for the values he teaches are important, only I regret I first realized this when my life ebbs. Still I shall make good use of what time I have. How the clerics must have wondered about this orc who came, carrying a greatsword on his back, whispered his prayers and even shed a tear, for then to disappear into the dark of the night again. But as Aeridin loves all life they would be pleased, or so I understand from what Ayla has told me. Oh how much I owe Ayla for having the patience to talk to me of Aeridin and his teachings. I owe her more than I can ever repay, for she has taken me out of my gloom. But it is more than that, I have known it for a long time I guess, but even to myself I have not dared to speak it, I love her.

[Meizter]

I am so happy that I cannot even describe it. I told Ayla how I feel for her today. We were up in Lar after I had helped her get the blueprints from Ulgrids Fortress for that chair for Dawson up there and she asked if there was anything else to see in town. I told her that the top of the krell is a wonderful place, a place where you can rest and let your gaze go to Lar and the temple of Dorand and into the peaks beyond.

We walked up and stood there for a while, and indeed it was beautiful. Even at night with Ausir lighting the snow covered landscape it was a magnificent sight. We spoke for a while, about the mountains, about the beauty there and how people so seldom come there since no riches are to be found. I could not help myself but said there was indeed riches there, her. In comparison the landscape seemed a pale reflection of beauty, as everything is when compared to her. Even in that orc shell she is a wonderful person and I knew at that moment that I had to tell her how I felt. My blue orc skin must have been red as iron out of the forge as I told her I had something I needed to tell her, and then I told her how I had fallen for her.

It was as if time stood still there on the krell, as if the snow flakes stopped their falling for a moment, and the world paused. I remember it with such clarity, the snow, the krell, the silvery light of Ausir bathing us in a gentle glow and Ayla before me, how she looked at me. When she spoke her words was like a soft song in the frosty air, and she said she had fallen for me as I had for her. I dared almost not believe it, this is what I have dreamed of, what I have wished so for but been so afraid of saying that I didn’t even dare write it in my journal. I hugged her for the first time ever and we kissed. Oh how sweet a kiss, her gentle lips upon mine, our arms around each other, I could not help whispering that I love her, and she said she loved me. I cannot even begin to hope to describe the things that went though my mind. Such feelings of happiness and joy, mere words would indeed not do them justice.

[Meizter]

How wonderful it has been to have the courage to tell Ayla that I love her. We spend much time together and I enjoy every minute. Feeling her close to me when we embrace her soft lips upon mine, her soft voice in my ears, it is all so wonderful. I must truly be the luckiest man alive.

We often go and have an ale and a talk somewhere. It is always enjoyable, for few people actually come to such places, as the waterfall near Blackford or the pond high above Haven. It is our special places, places where we can let our hearts speak. When I am with her words seem to swell up inside me and I cannot help but to tell her how special she is and how much she means to me. For truly she means the world to me, I would lay down my life on the spot could it save hers, for she is an angel hidden in this orcish hide we wear now.
How wonderful it has been to have the courage to tell Ayla that I love her. We spend much time together and I enjoy every minute. Feeling her close to me when we embrace her soft lips upon mine, her soft voice in my ears, it is all so wonderful. I must truly be the luckiest man alive.

We often go and have an ale and a talk somewhere. It is always enjoyable, for few people actually come to such places, as the waterfall near Blackford or the pond high above Haven. It is our special places, places where we can let our hearts speak. When I am with her words seem to swell up inside me and I cannot help but to tell her how special she is and how much she means to me. For truly she means the world to me, I would lay down my life on the spot could it save hers, for she is an angel hidden in this orcish hide we wear now. But still such skin can not hide her beauty in any way.

[Meizter]

We had a meeting about the orphanage today at Jaccs house. Many good ideas came up and I have a feeling we should be able to raise the money. Still it will require a lot of work for each of us, but we are determined to see it through. I think there will be both tournaments, lotteries, auctions and a grand ball for us all to enjoy. Skarp mentioned the Krashin Axe Dance, but luckily we didn’t have to show it, it is really a difficult dance and I have never been good at it, not like Skarp who really knows each and every step and swing of the axe. Perhaps we should practice and then perform it at the ball…could be fun I think.

[Meizter]

Ayla and I went to the Leilon Arms tonight to celebrate. She had just made her first exceptional ring ever and I had just sold some jewelry for quite a sum. We decided to go an not hide ourselves but instead pose as Hah and Hoak. It worked out very well, I know Remiel recognized us but he understood enough to not mention our real names. We had a nice dinner, and how wonderful it was to sit at a nice table with a tablecloth and have a warm meal served. It was a wonderful time, and even though the Arms is expensive I didn’t care for only the best is good enough for Ayla. It was our first real dinner as a couple but not our last of that I am sure.

We met up with Daeron later but he was not in a good mood as he had just been hurt by the Soul Mother, poor Dearon I know how he feels, and it is hard to fill that hole she digs in you with her clutches. I am truly blessed that Ayla is there for me, I seldom think about death anymore, I think about how wonderful life is.

We sat at the bar and had a few ales when a fire erupted in the kitchen, but it was relatively quickly under control, but that was indeed not the end of the drama that night. Soon after Queen Allurial came to see the Arms, so us orcs made ourselves invisible so she did not have to see us like that. She spoke with Derrick, Quin and Kali and then I think it was spiders who came in from the corridor and attacked. It was not lucky to say the least and within a few minutes we were all being escorted outside while the queen was leaving and saying she’d be back another time and hopefully it would be a more controlled inn by then. A man then came and said that the Arms were being shut down. It was all chaos then and as people outside were talking and shouting we were suddenly attacked by mercs I think that even killed an elven girl before they were handled. That of course caused a major investigation and Daeron, Ayla and myself went with Brualot, he is an investigator after all so I thought it would be a wise choice to follow in his steps. It all turned out that the people behind this was someone who were to open an inn called The Golden Hero across town. They had ties to the mayor of Leilon, but when we spoke with him of the matter he was indeed most understanding. Alas the criminals were not caught but at least the Arms was reopened so that is at least some comfort.

[Meizter]

I have decided to ask Ayla to marry me. I love her so much that I could not imagine, no I dare not imagine, life without her. She brightens my day and my life. I have had arranged a little picnic for her up above Haven, one of our special places, and I have an outstanding platinum ring as well ready for when I get on my knees and ask her. I hope she will accept, and somehow I think she will. It is as we are suited for one another in a way I cannot even hope to understand.

[Meizter]

I am going to be married! Today I asked Ayla if she would marry me. High above Haven at the small pond I had arranged a little picnic as a little surprise to her. She was happy as she saw it, and after a little talk I told her I had made a new poem that I would like her opinion on. I got down on my knees and told it.

Ayla, my love
You are as radiant as the sun
Truly you my heart have won
You are bewitching as the moons
With you my heart sings so joyous tunes
I love you with all my heart and soul
With you I feel as I am whole
Will you with me forever be?
Ayla, will you marry me?

And she would. At that moment I was the happiest man alive, and it was a moment that never had to end. I gave her a ring I had made, one of my finest creations in platinum, but still it pales compared to her beauty. As we embraced we whispered of how much we love each other, and truly it is much. Never before have I felt like this, this is the love I have dreamt of, but never thought I would find. Here it was, right in front of my eyes. As Ayla said, it feels so right, and truly it does. I still remember when I first met her, I was speaking of revenge near the well in Hlint and she promised me that when time would come she would help me. I remember when I first saw her in our house; my heart skipped a beat then. I have seen her so often but have I ever dared to think she might love me, and yet she does; what more could I have asked for. So many words of love and devotion was spoken up there, and I did mean every single one of them.

We also spoke of how to do the wedding, and in the end we decided to wait until we are humans again. Not that we like to wait, but still it makes things so much easier. Then Aylas parents will not have to see us in this shape, and we can invite all we know, which is a lot of people actually. Also there was the issue of children. Were we to have children while in this shape would they not be orcs then; that is something we would not dare, for the life of an orc in this world is not an easy one. Hence we have decided to wait, although the waiting is long.

[Meizter]

Abi is back. She has been in our house, for this morning I found a note pinned to my clothes.

*a small piece of paper is put into the journal*
How quickly a man forgets and how hollow his intentions.
His words as true as a poem, mostly made up and untrue.

Could have slit your throat.....

ABI

She wants revenge I am sure. Did I do wrong I ask myself, should I have waited? Perhaps it was heartless of me to find love, but this was not a love that I came looking for, it found Ayla and me, and how should we have been able to not heed such a strong force as love, drawing us together. It is her I love, what I felt for Abi pales in comparison to my feelings for Ayla, and to be honest she has brought this upon herself. She left me, without a word of farewell, without a single letter. I have posted notes at the inns everywhere I have gone, asked people I met about her and still no word or anything. Now over a year later she comes back as I have found happiness and she will do what she can to ruin it I fear… or worse…she will come after Ayla. I hope that she stays her weapons if she goes to see Ayla, for if she as much as damages a single hair on Ayla’s head I will make her pay. Much I can take, but no one shall threaten the one I love. I have told Ayla of all this, as I do not wish to keep any secrets from her. I said I could understand if she thought me wicked for doing as I have done, but she did not, she still loves me.

[Meizter]

I should write this down so I don’t forget. Lucky, the halfling lass I once met at the Grey Watchtower before the incident with the drows and the ring, told something today. She said she once had turned into a badger, and that the Raven had turned her back into her real shape. This could perhaps be a way for us to become human again.

She is a funny lass that Lucky, we met her in Bloody Gate not long ago, when Rashar, Fenrir, Rolf and I was hunting the demons there. It was nice company and it is good to see Fenrir again. We have decided we should begin my dwarven lessons as soon as I am human again, and that is about time really, for I need to learn new words I think if I should ever be able to speak the dwarven language.

Later we met up in Pranzis again since I had been a tad late because I needed to go get Ayla and take her with me, as I had promised her to show her Dregar. It was nice to have her with me, and certainly made the trip less lonely. I also think the others thought it was nice that we had found each other, I think everyone thinks that really. And it is, it is the best that have ever happened to me. This love is as strong as the love that bound Patricia and Claus, I feel that within myself.

[Meizter]

It is simply not fair! The Soul Mother has again taken a piece of my beloved Ayla. She told me today when I got back to Hlint. She had been killed by treants in the High Forest, cursed creatures, why should they come after her. We stood for a long time embracing each other. I could not live if she was not here with me and this did indeed frighten me, as it has frightened her. I should have been there, perhaps I could have stopped them, just long enough for her to get away, but alas I was not. But we have to move on, we still are alive and breathing and what is most important, we are together still. But what a scare, please Lord Aeridin, keep her safe.

[Meizter]

Rolf thinks I have gone soft. It is just that I think about things before I kill, and he does not fully understand that. It all started with him meeting Abi and her making threats to me as she thinks I am false. He even asked me if he should kill her for me, but I would have none of that, should it ever come to killing it should be me who did wield the blade. But I do not wish for that, still if she comes for Ayla I will not hesitate to do what it takes to keep her safe. As I have told Ayla, I would lie down my life without a moments doubt if it could save her, and I stand by those words.

Still Rolf thought that I had lost my ferocity in battle, and we had a long discussion about that. In the end I don’t really know if we came to any conclusion, but I said that I would not hesitate to kill to keep a friend safe. I know this sounds harsh, but as I understand the Lord Aeridin teaches that it may be needed to take up weapons to defend those who cannot defend themselves, and your loved ones. But still killing should always be the last option, the one to be used when everything else have failed.

[Meizter]

I met Abi today. She showed herself in Hlint as Rolf and I was speaking with Mender and Reef. I walked to her even though she had her blade drawn. We spoke for a long time, a really long time, but little did it accomplish. She is not as she once was, she is without feelings anymore, nothing means anything to her, and truly I feel sorry for her. Still I told her that things could not be as before, for I love Ayla more than I have ever loved anyone, but I could offer her my friendship. She knew this was how it had to be, her being the one that had to hurt. I told her how she had hurt me, but I do not think she understood that she hurt me when she left as I have hurt her now. But things are as they are, I cannot offer her more than friendship, and I will not. My heart belongs to Ayla and it always will for with her I have found something truly special. We walked to the Rangers Vale, as it for me was a place where I found peace when I offered my prayers to the Lord Aeridin. But it never came to prayers just talking. But still it became clear that she would hurt neither Ayla nor me, and as long as Ayla is safe it is all good.

[Meizter]

Finally we are no longer orcs. A druid called Raven in Wolfswood transformed us back into our old shapes. Still let me begin from the start of this magnificent tale. We met near Blackford some time ago and decided that we orcs should infiltrate the orc camp in High Forest. So we decided that we would fake an attack on the non-orcs as we entered the forest so the real orcs would believe us to be orcs wanting to join the cause under the flag of Corash or Red Raven as he is called.

The plan did indeed work. We got past the queens guards who had made barricades around the forest. We then hid and as Xiao, Remiel and some others went into the woods and got attacked by an orc patrol. We then ran at them screaming and swinging our weapons and Rem’s group ran away. It seemed enough to convince the orcs that we were indeed real orcs and after a bit of food, prepared by Bil our goblin slave, we went on. Poor Bil really, he was to be treated so badly since he had to act as our slave that I truly felt sorry for him, but what could I do. It would blow our cover if we were nice to him, so we kept on calling him bad things and throwing stuff after him.

Well we made it to the orc camp, which was not in High Forest, but in the Grey Peaks. It was a massive camp, first we saw Duergars in a separate camp. Not prisoners but seemed to be working with the orcs to some still to us unknown purpose. Then we saw lots and lots of orcs, and demons! As we went through the camp we saw several kinds of demons, or devils as Daeron kept on reminding us when we had time alone. Orcs were everywhere, carrying stuff, working with their various tasks. It seemed an organized camp or well organized to what I would have expected from orcs. Indeed it did not bode well that the orcs really seemed to have a plan. But onwards we went, into the tunnels into the Peaks. Down there we saw many orcs working with carving out the stone making the place bigger. Deep into the tunnels we got to a huge cavern in which was a lake. This in itself was of course not frightening but what was, was the pit fiend there. It stood by a circle and an altar. The circle made of blood with symbols drawn in blood around. What have must been a priest and his acolytes were chanting there as we passed. I recall still how the shivers ran down my spine and I thought that we would not escape this place alive. Indeed we were walking to our doom I felt as we went on and on down into the krell. If only Ayla would be able to get out I didn’t really care if I would be able to, she mattered and our task mattered. We had to succeed in this, for the sake of Mistone, or as we later learned, for the sake of Lar.

We came to a big room where the orcs were excavating some old tunnel. We were put to work as well after some conflict between Harg and the work leader over Bil, the leader wanted Bil but Harg said he was ours. So they pushed each other a bit before knocked the leader over. We then went to work. As we worked we agreed that the tunnels we were excavating were old duergar tunnels, used by the duergar to attack Lar. Did the orcs want to attack Lar? And why?

We were to learn soon enough, but first we had a rest and witnessed a foul ritual. It seemed that they used magic to draw the power of the demon into orcs, making them stronger, demonbreed. It almost killed the demon it seemed but it rose again after the ritual and once more they began over, even though we did see it more up front the next time they performed it alas, but I shall keep to how things transpired down in those damned tunnels. We rested for a bit, discussing the ritual we had observed. What could be the reason for this and why were they digging out an old tunnel to Lar?

After a while we saw a group of orcs, those that had been transformed in the ritual, go to the room where Corash had his quarters. We followed silently, and soon we heard battle from the room. It appears the changed orcs had attacked Corash and so we attacked them to thereby win his confidence. It was a hard battle and many of us did fall, but were then raised after the battle. In the end we all stood before Corash and told him we sought to join his army, to be part of this thing that he Corash or Red Raven as he was called led. Still we had no opportunity to get to him in his sleep, and indeed it seemed as he never slept.

We worked though the next day until we were called for the ritual. It seemed we should bow to the Great Father as they called it. It must have been terrible for the priests and if they had had to bow and swear allegiance to Grand they would not have done it. But it was nothing like it. We were to stand in the circle, while Corash watched. I still recall how my heart did beat so fast. I was afraid, more afraid than I have ever been. What would happen to us, would we be made demonbreeds? The ritual commenced and I recall very little of it. I only remember I saw Skarp fall at some point and I looked to those outside the circle. I saw Ayla and I let her be on my mind as I felt heat rise around me. It felt as if my flesh got singed but I tried not to cry out in pain. I would have betrayed us all had I let them hear me in pain so I kept my lips shut, thinking of Ayla and how I had to be silent for her sake. Then it was all over, or at least that part was over. After we went to rest Skarp who then awoke told us he had taken a sip of the drink Komatz had given us and while he slept due to the drink he had had a dream. He had dreamt that he and I had been training and then suddenly I had stuck him down. ME! I HAD STRUCK MY BROTHER DOWN AND KILLED HIM! It was as if my world shattered at that moment, I was certain it was an omen and I retreated from them. How could I dare to be near anyone when I was a killer? The ritual had left us with a glow in our eyes, a demonic red glow and both Rolf and Harg were completely beside themselves. I remember not much of what happened but I have later been told that Daeron transformed himself into a zombie and dove into the lake to examine what was down there and if any exits were there. Alas zombies does not swim well, not even those who are not real zombies and it was a lot of work to get Daeron back up from the depths. I did not help and I am ashamed of that, but I at the time feared I would kill anyone who I came near, could I kill Skarp then I could as well kill anyone, or worst of all…Ayla. In the end we decided that I would give my weapons to Ael, and he would keep them so I could not hurt anyone. I know now that what Skarp saw was just a dream of his worst fear, but at that time it seemed so real and so terrifying.

In any case we went to see Corash later that evening and offered him a drink and a song to help him sleep. He did in fact not sleep but he did not decline our offer so we began to entertain. I told the tale of the warrior and the servant slightly changed to fit the orc situation but essentially the same tale. Then Ayla sang a beautiful song of a newborn orc chieftain and the life of war he would grow up to. Corash did drink the potion and soon he fell asleep. We all took some of it and then we entered his dream.

In his dream we saw him as a hunter in the forest. He killed a great cat but as he was about to skin it he was attacked by a band of humans and dwarves. Alas they killed him as he had only his skinning knife to defend himself with. He was no threat to them and I do think they acted wrong. Corash was not evil, he was just a hunter gathering food for his tribe. I feel sorry for him, in some way it is a tragic tale. We all see orcs as evil and foul beings, but seeing it from the orc perspective or at least the perspective of Corash shows that we also can be cruel and evil. What is right and what is wrong, it is a hard question to answer I guess but still I think Corash indeed do deserve our pity and compassion. In any case the dream continued. He suddenly stood before the greatest orc I have ever seen. The orc was Grand the god of orcs, and he gave Corash the name Red Raven. He would be Grands instrument to punish. He gave him the blade and had Corash drive it into his chest and drink his blood. And so they were one, the Red Raven, the blade and Grand.

It was the dream and as we awoke Corash did have new strength to carry on the fight and his mission. Before this he had had some reluctance but it had vanished like morning dew before the sun. Alas it was not good. We needed now to get back to Komatz and tell him of the dream we had seen. Also when we got out we had to warn Lar, we now understood that the target of the attack was most likely the citadel of Dorand in Lar. Harg explained this to us through an old tale of how Grand once had made a beautiful blade and presented it to Dorand as a gift. Dorand had taken the blade and cut of Grands fingers for he was outraged that an orc had crafted such a blade. From that time Grand hated Dorand, and now perhaps through Corash he could have some revenge. But we had to get out and we decided to try and tell Corash that Ael who should go as our seer had had a vision of a fiery tusk clan wanting to join the cause, and we should go get them. Corash seemed to believe us so we quickly left the tunnels and went to the back towards Hlint through the High Forest.

Only Garnet met us at the barricades, but he and the others convinced the guards of who we were and we were let through. We then hurried to Blackford to alert the queen’s men and sent Garnet to Lar with message of the impending attack. All the while we hurried to the Sword Rusts to see Komatz. At first Komatz didn’t believe we were indeed us, but finally he was convinced that we were not regular orcs sent by Corash. We told him the tale of the dream and he said he could break the blade and the spell, but he had to come with us. And so it was, Komatz and some of his men went back with us to the Grey Peaks and into the tunnels. We knew it was now it would end, either the blade and Corash would be broken or we would. My heart was up my throat as we walked through the tunnels. It was obvious the attack was soon to take place; so many orcs were gathered and ready to fight. Demons or devils all over the place were watching us as we went deeper and deeper into the tunnels. Then finally we were before the room where Corash waited. We decided that our best chance would be to take Komatz before him first and then we would sing him a new song Ayla had made. A beautiful song of how tragic a life it has been for Corash, while he did so Komatz would prepare his magic and at the final verse I would join in and sing as loud as I could, and that would be the signal for all to begin. We knew combat would be hard and some of us would fall, but alas we had to try.

It all went well really, we came before Corash and he and Komatz spoke for a while. Then Ayla began her song, which indeed did move Corash, and we slowly prepared. As the song drew to and end I felt as if my life itself was about to draw to an end. It’s hard to explain but I had this feeling within me, sitting there in the room of Red Raven and all the exits guarded by demons and orcs much stronger than those you normally see. Then as I shouted out the last word of the song it all began. I cannot remember much of it, as it was a blur of magic and weapons, blood everywhere and screams and shouts filling the caverns. I know I went into the work area and saw Ayla fall to the ground and then it all went black. Later the others told me that I was killed by a demon but we had succeeded. The blade was broken, we had won the day. We healed both Komatz and Corash and took them both with us as we left the tunnels. It was easier said than done, we fought our way through every foot of tunnel. Orcs and demons coming at us, but finally we saw light ahead. But alas as we left the tunnels we were hit by a barrage of arrows and demons. We all fell except Alantha, Daeron and Komatz. In time Komatz came back to heal us and after proper thanks he left for the Sword Rusts while we hurried to Lar. Harg had done an earthquake in the tunnels so all the orcs would be trapped in the tunnel leading to Lar.

Soon we arrived in Lar. Before we reached town we saw smoke rising and we feared we perhaps were too late. Into the fray we went, killing orcs and demons as we entered town. So many fell before us, and yet still more came. We pressed on towards the Citadel of Dorand and after some hard fights where Balors seemed to keep on coming without end we finally reached the safety of the Citadel. We learned then that the Baron of Lar and his men had gone down into the tunnels to clear them out, so our mission was to clear the surface. And so we did. Demons and orcs and I know not what attacked us but we prevailed in the end. There atop the mountain at Lar we took the day. We had succeeded.

Only one thing remained. For us to be our normal selves again, but alas as we came to the wizard in the swamp he would not turn us back. Or he would if we brought him one of the race we wanted to be. Most of us would never kill another for us to be ourselves again so we decided to try and find this Raven in Wolfswood. She indeed agreed to change us, and she did without any form of payment. We owe her a lot for that indeed. How grand it was to be human again, and to see the others as they really are, and not some hulking orc shape.

It has been a grand adventure, perhaps the greatest I have ever seen and I feel close with those people who I was there with. We shared the life of the orcs and that have indeed created a special bond between us I think. Today I sit here as my old self, but still I feel something of the orc within me. I am stronger now than before but also I feel my anger lie just beneath the surface, but I try very hard to keep it in check. Perhaps it is the demon blood in us, perhaps orc remains, I don’t know. But I do know that it is all over for now.

[Meizter]

We are back from Krashin. Skarp and I decided it was time for us to go and have our revenge on the Egilsons. A good band of our friends came with us as we travelled to Krashin. How wonderful it was to see the snow covered lands again, to feel the cold air against my skin, and in my lungs. I felt truly alive there on our ancestral soil. I think most besides Skarp, Rolf, Burr and I didn’t really like the cold, but they are not from Krashin so they’re not used to it. Still we left Ravens’ Watch and went northwards towards the bear lands of the north, towards home.

After a while we came to the valley of our home and it was changed indeed. People were afraid of something that came in the night, and even worse, Halgrim was now lord of the area. What a travesty a murderer and arsonist as a lord, If I had been alone there with Skarp we would most likely have killed him when we laid our eyes upon him, but Aylas gentle presence indeed did calm me and made me think clearer.

We found Halgrim in the village, but alas he was not the man he once was, not a man worthy of revenge. He was broken and blinded but still he would have let us have our revenge but we or well I did not. Instead we asked him to tell what had happened there.

101 years ago a witch had come to this region and had asked the people to build her a castle within 100 years and she would keep the valley green and prosperous. This was a secret only known by the elders of the families and so now it was passed on to us. The castle was not built however, and now she had come and taken people. It is like the childrens game a Krashinite I met near Haven once told me of. Where a girl counts to 100 and the others must either build a stone pile as big as her before she reaches 100 or hide. If she catches them she takes them to her lair and they can only be set free if one comes into the lair and acts like a bear. The game was not a game, it was as much a story that told us what to do. Gro had been taken along with Erik, her and Skarps son, and Eigil had gone to get them back but no one had heard from him and his men.

We also found Sigrid who came to us after Halgrim had told the tale of the Witch of the Black Isles. She feared us at first, thinking we would kill her as she was now one of the Egilsons, but we assured her we were only happy to see her. She told us what she knew of Gro and Erik but it was not much new. We decided then to make haste to the Black Isles and seek out this witch. She would have taken her last person to her lair!

We entered the alexandrite mines as it was where the tracks from Eigils group led us. There we found a marking on the floor but how to enter. It brought an old Krashinite saying to mind that goes If you go courting an old woman, come with a gem in your hand or you might be left out in the cold. And so we did, we all took an alexandrite in our hand and then Skarp turned into a bear and roared like in the childrens game. It all so fits with the games, the sayings and the dream Skarp had that it is almost uncanny, and it worked.

We were suddenly in a place that reeked of evil, and as we went on we were beset by all sorts of demons and devils. Daeron said that we most likely were on one of the most evil planes, not really a comforting thought. Suddenly we saw great bears in the distance but Skarp ran up to them in his bear shape and they allowed him to pass and us as well. They were the bears of Skarps dream I am sure, and so if the dream was true we had to face evil now.

We entered another portal behind the bears and found ourselves in a great castle, the lair of the witch. As we went forward, weapons drawn we were suddenly attacked. It was Eigil and his men who came upon us with the fury of madmen. They died there in the cold halls of the witch’s castle, Reef felled Eigil with a good swing of his boat hook. I know Skarp wished it had been him who felled Eigil but alas it was not meant to be it seemed. As we continued we found golems like the ones that now inhabit Berhagen and in that fight I was struck down. I did what I could to avoid the blow but the stair I was standing on made me lose my balance. I should still count myself lucky that the Soul Mother did not come for me at that time. And I should thank Rolf and Mist for once again giving me life.

Finally we were there, a library of sorts and before us an old woman and a young lad. She was the witch but as we tried to get to her she stepped back into a portal with the lad and was gone. We heard her yell something about druids but alas what it means is still unknown. As we watched it Gro came out from behind a shelf hugging Skarp and thanking us all. The lad the witch had taken was Erik, their son, my nephew, and we wowed then that we would go and get him back soon.

It was a strange tale, childrens games, old sayings and dreams all turning out to be true in a way. I guess we sometimes forget that even legends that seem too odd to be true may still hold an ounce of truth. We will soon try to get Erik back, but we need to prepare properly. Gro has come to live with us in the house, and it is nice enough really, although I think she doesn’t really like that we fill the house with our work and not nice chairs and stuff.

[Meizter]

We have set a date for the wedding, the fourth of Decilar to be precise. Oh how I look forward to this. Then we will be man and wife. Everything is prepared, or almost at least. I still need to get me a suit and find the perfect ring, but I have an idea for that, but not even here in my journal I will tell that yet. Ayla has made sure there is food for everyone and I have brewed so much beer that I think the smell of wort will never leave my clothes. I cannot even explain what this means to me, I am happy, truly happy and nothing can destroy this feeling of joy that runs within me. I will be married to the most wonderful woman in the world.

[Meizter]

We have made an exploration group. It’s a grand success so far and we have done very well. It was Varka who came with the idea and it really works well, we even got a name, the Bloody Hands, the name we said our orc tribe had. The leaders are us who started this band and also were orcs, then our second in commands are those who were along in this from the start, like Fenrir and Burr. Who would ever have thought me part of the leadership of a band like this? Still it works very well, we have been to Dregar on several occasions and our tactics seem sound. We have bested vampires and trolls and laid waste to the ogres in the Iron Hills. My place is normally in the back with my bow, it is the safest for me as the Soul Mother always seems to be on the lookout for a chance to get me. I will put more work into using my bow, for there I can sing for the others and then fire quite a bit of arrows into the battle. I am sure in time we’ll make a name for ourselves… the Bloody Hands.

[Meizter]

Today there was a great commotion as Bloods forces had been spotted on the way to Velensk. This came not long after another attack on Velensk and quickly a large force had gathered at Velensk. There was quite a number of people there I knew, and after some debate it was decided that we would all go on a ship and meet the enemy fleet at sea. Varka had a different plan but I fail to see the logic in dividing our forces between Velensk, Dragon Isles and the sea.

In any case we soon approached the ships and battle ensued. It was fierce and even the sea creatures attacked us. Most likely someone in league with the elven pond dweller that made that happen, and there were said prayers to many gods on the ship. Good thing Rolf wasn’t there, he’d have thrown people over the side for praying to the pond dweller for help and for people calling for Vorax here in Mists domain.

Anyways soon we boarded the largest of the enemy ships and battle was indeed hard. We fought constructs and undeads before it was all over. By then a small ship had escaped us heading for the Dragon Isles. We went in pursuit and made it to the isles. There we found sign of combat but no enemies. A treant came to us and explained that all had been killed, but the forest on the Isles did indeed need a caretaker. Some seemed to have an idea of who that should be, but I guess that will be another tale sometime. It was discovered that the forces that had made landfall here was indeed a scouting party, coming to chart the area, most likely before a larger invasion force. We must be happy the treants stopped them.

Alas I should stop this writing and get on with the wedding preparations as well as practice my dwarven.