Freas, Augra 24, 1559
I arrived in Center, at last. The route from Mariner’s Hold to Port Hempstead was not all too pleasant for me, though. Everything still looked great when the vessel left the harbour on Alindor and set sail towards Mistone. The weather was warm and the air smelled salty. I have been on board of a ship before, but this time was special to me. It was the first time I set sail to another continent and certainly the first step towards my new life as a mercenary on my own. I was excited to see how my new life would turn out to be, but at the same time I already missed my family and friends. Where were Tyrith, Lea and the others heading? It must have been something rather dangerous, else Tyrith would have demanded I fight back to back with her. I hope she is doing alright. Wherever she may be at the moment, whatever she is doing at the moment, I will always be with her even if only in my thoughts and fond memories of the times we ventured through Alindor together.
The weather changed while our ship set sail to Port Hempstead. The skies turned darker and the wind blew with more and more force. Lightning flashed through the sky and the following thunder let even our vessel tremble, as large as it was. The captain was shouting orders to his crew and they hurried to secure its sails and the rigging. For the first time in my life I felt seasick and powerless as the same time. There was nothing I could do. I was no sailor and it was hard to even see anything in the heavy rain. Then it struck me. I had been catching some rays of bright sunshine while she ship was leaving Mariner’s Hold. I still left my equipment laying around on deck! Gods help me! Adrenaline rushed through me as I darted towards to where I left my belongings. Just as I got there a wave struck over the deck and with it most of my belongings were gone. Everything on deck was gone. I fell on my knees, sobbing. My armour and blade were gone, taken by the stormy sea. I felt miserable. My blade! The scimitar I got from Tyrith and Lea for my 17th birthday. It was but a copper blade, but high in personal value. The rest of my personal possessions were securely locked away under deck, so I still had my other valuable possessions. If I learned something over the past two years then that life will go on. If I ever set foot on Mistone I will buy myself a new blade and continue my journey in these foreign lands. I stood up and slowly went back under deck.
The rest of the ride was rather pleasant and some time later we arrived the port of Port Hempstead. I restocked quickly there and left with a caravan towards Center. After a few days travel I securely arrived in Center. Center is a really interesting place. It is not much of a town like Lan’s Port is, but it is still full of life. The reason why I was heading toward Center was that Duncan told me it is a place where many adventurers and mercenaries linger around, so a lot of opportunities to prove myself. Still without armour or a weapon I started wandering through this very town.
It did not take me a long to find my first opportunity to prove myself. A young man stood close to the town’s centre and was looking for some help. Apparently he was looking for someone who was able to wield a blade and work as some sort of bodyguard for him. I told him I was proficient with blades of all sorts and offered my help. Michael, that’s his name, has an interesting taste in his wardrobe. Lavender and pink do not really go well together, but it does not seem to bother him at all. However, as I was short on money he offered me a loan of 200 True so I could by a new blade and some armour. After successful fulfilment of my job I’d have to pay him back. We agreed and he showed me around Center a little. After all I had to seek out the local merchants for weapons and armour. I also had to take care of food and water supply. The local armour merchant wanted more than 2,000 True for a simple copper plate. I protested, but to no avail. Copper blades were less expensive and thus I settled for a copper rapier and scimitar for now. I also purchased a large copper shield. As plates were way too expensive, judging the cost for a low quality armour, for me, I decided to stick to my old leathers and postponed my armour purchase for a later time.
Before he would take me along with him I had to prove my worth. Michael is a wizard, proficient in bending the Al’Noth to his will, and offered my some protection so I’d stand a chance against my future opponents. To prove myself we headed to a kobold encampment close to Center on the way to Port Hempstead. Kobolds are fierce creatures, that’s for sure! I was nervous when I first encountered them. So far I always fought alongside Tyrith and Lea and knew I could rely on them. But in this specific situation I was on my own and if I failed I’d not be hired by Michael. After a few strikes with my blades they already fell before me. Well, they looked tougher than they were in reality, at least when facing just one or two of them. We ventured farther into a swamp which really was infested by kobolds. Some of them even know how to bend the Al’Noth to their will and engaged us with magic. Together we managed to press on and defeat our opponents. I was still wearing my old leathers so I was hit many times. I really had to invest in some plate armour for better protection!
Once I proved myself worthy in these swamps we ventured to a place where undead creatures roamed the lands. It was a horrible experience as I never fought against undead creatures before. They don’t seem to feel pain which makes it hard to aim for their weak spots or strike a devastating hit. A dark place, that’s for sure. After we defeated Michael wanted us to travel to Krashin, some islands up in the north as we required sapphires for his alchemy. Krashin sure is a rough land and trust me, it is way too cold and icy over there. I almost tripped several times. The veins were to be found in some icy caves beneath the surface. The cold was the least of a problem there, though. These caves were inhabited by even more kobolds and on our trip up north we even spotted kobolds which were riding wolves or even spiders! The fights were very challenging and I also passed out one time when I was surrounded by kobolds. They really know how to hit with their spears. I still do not really know what struck me as I went down. I felt the last spikes of adrenaline rush through my body as my vision darkened and fell to the ground. Heat surrounded me. Was I dead? I felt pain rushing through my entire body and all of a sudden I breathed violently for air. I was alive again. Micheal knelt beside me, pouring a potion down my throat. He seemed very concerned and let a sigh of relief escape him as I opened my eyes again. The kobolds were slain while I was slowly dying. We took shelter in a corner of the icy cave before we continued our journey. My fingers already fell numb from the harsh cold down here. Next time, he promised me, we would venture to a warmer, more arid place. We securely made our way back to Fort Vehl where our ways departed for now. I managed to pay back my loan and with a pouch of True I headed back to Center.
Michael told me about two major stores on Mistone. Luckily both of them are located close to Port Hempstead. I was just browsing through the various chests of the Angel’s Guild store as a proud man introduced himself as Daniel Poetr, Knight of the Golden One and member of the Angels. I politely introduced myself and told him about how most of my equipment was lost in the storm. I bought an iron scimitar and Daniel offered me a discount for a copper full plate if I helped him gathering the resources needed for crafting a new one. For the duration of the trip I was allowed to borrow a half plate. On our way to Hlint we stopped at Krandor. While we restocked supplies there we were approached by a little girl who was looking for some help. Her name was Nicky, I think. Apparently she was wandering around in a crypt with her grandfather’s ashes when some skeletons jumped on her. While she managed to flee, a green glowing skeleton managed to take the ashes. Naturally we offered our help and ventured into the dark crypts. The crypt really was eerie and I felt watched the whole time. Together with Daniel I managed to take down many of these undead creatures. What is dead should stay dead and if they don’t then it is on me to put them back to their rest again. Daniel told me that there is something more sinister beneath these crypts. It is believed that there may be a hidden temple of Corath somewhere. Some evidence down there supports this thesis. Whether the rumours are true or not I cannot say at the moment. I just arrived here a few days ago after all. Once we managed to get the ashes back we made our way back to the surface where Nicky gladly took the ashes back and happily strolled off.
After our short stop in Krandor we continued our way to Hlint. Close to Hlint we found some caves which are inhabited by fierce goblins. We had to enter the caves for raw copper ore, though. Together we managed to mine enough ore for a new set of armour. Luckily for us there is a smithy in Hlint. While Daniel was working on my new armour I spent some time with his lovely wife, Lana, in Hlint. She offered me a short tour through the town. According to her Hlint was once a town full of live and adventurers, but the all moved on to Port Hempstead and Center and thus Hlint appears to be somewhat sleepy. I asked how they got to know each other and this is where things really got interesting. Apparently Lana was the wife of Daniel’s father. I did not ask whether Lana was Daniel’s real mother or not. I got to know that some people are not fond of their love and do not understand them. It is not for me to judge them by it, though. It may be common on Mistone for all I know. I don’t. And isn’t it better to be with someone who you love instead of a forced love by others? I know I had no feelings for Damien back then and I did not want to spend the rest of my life with him. However, Hlint is still a lovely place and has a nice garden. Daniel managed to make me a very well fitting piece of armour and did not want any True for the making as I helped him in Krandor and also got the ore together with him. We said our good-byes and I spent the night in Hlint to rest.
Later I took a portal back to Center where I worked on the design of my new armour. Using portals feels rather strange and I still don’t know how they really work. But every part of my body tingled and tensed as I stepped through the portal. Still a feeling I will have to get used to, I guess. While I was in the craft hall to work on my armour and blade and was also looking for any job offers I overheard a conversation by a hooded man and a small man. A halfling or gnome I guess. The man was filled with eternal sadness and performed a lovely, yet sad tune on his violin as he sang along. As lovely as the tune was, the story was not and after his performance I felt a depression creeping into my very bones and heart. I was trembling with tears. The name of the performer was Farros. If I ever meet him again, I may ask him about his sorrow. I would have done so after the performance, but I was struck by it and besides that, he vanished right in front of my eyes after the last tune.
Well, I guess I should rest for now. The past two weeks really have been interesting. I still have a lot to see and I already know that I will look forward to all these new adventures that await me here in Center. These adventurers sure are interesting folks….
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