Journal Entry of Tavin Grimmane
By Aaron Monroe
Soldier’s Journal, Tavin Grimmane
Entry Day 562
Currently in the Southern Swamplands deep inside a strange new land on a dangerous mission. Finally taking a short rest with some time to collect my thoughts. Other soldiers taking a well-deserved rest as well for the moment, but we will continue on with our mission soon. Here is my private report on the state of our mission as it stands.
It has been a confusing past two weeks for me. For one, we got into trouble with the Silver Order and have been demoted in rank by Marshall Beckett in Thule. Additionally, almost all of us died. I did die, and yet here we all stand, having left the island for our next mission. It’s a strange and curious life we live, far from the simplicity of a soldier’s life along the front lines of the Lahmekh mountains.
After bringing the missing girl and Guard Jensen safely back to the island from the great beast, we received an order to report our progress (or lack of) to the Marshall in Thule. Using the magical orb on the ship, we made contact with the Marshall, who gave us a good yelling. I nearly chuckled. Lords, this reminded me of the ole’ days on the front lines in Lahmekh when we would get screamed at by our field commanders. This guy, whatever his name was, was the usual idiot, yelling and screaming about something or the other, wanting results yesterday, but probably had never set a single foot onto a battlefield. I’ve never had much personal respect for these clean polished uniform types, but orders are orders and duty is duty. I generally try to keep my opinions to myself.
The Marshall was demanding an update as to why our mission has been delayed, and whether we knew the status of two missing Silver Knights by the name of Barnabus and Marie. I somewhat recall Kai and the others recognizing a couple of soldiers while we were stationed at Ebon Point, the old guy and the weird lady. Strange enough from what I’ve noticed to see a Lady Silver Knight, let alone on the front lines, so I remembered her, although I got the impression she was always confused and not very useful in battle. From what I recall, she was being cared for somewhere on the Young Lady by that Barnabus fella. I guess this Marshall wanted to know their whereabouts, claiming they may be guilty of abandoning their duty and finding them would require risking other soldiers’ lives to find. The guy began drilling each of us, starting with Kai, who immediately lied, claiming she had no knowledge of the two Knights whereabouts—so did Adoril and Elre, as well as Marcus. The Marshall then directly demanded that I speak up.
The whole situation was a mess, but I figured it was a mess that would blow over. I had no idea why Kai would bother lying to a Marshall to begin with. In a ship filled with soldiers and crew, Marie and Barnabus would most likely eventually be discovered. On the other hand, I wondered why the Marshall was so obsessed with two soldiers out of thousands, especially with many dead at Ebon Point anyway. He was either an idiot or trying to set up a trap for us, or both. Strange situation to be in as far as I could tell. Although lying to a superior officer is against a soldier’s duty, so would be turning on your comrades in arms and commander in the field. Givin’ up on the others who’ve had my back in the field could get them in trouble, and we needed trust to keep alive on the battle field. I was sure this guy knew we were lying, or would soon find out, but I wasn’t gonna turn on my field officer for some idiot brass half the world away. I told Captain Idiot McEmptySkull I hadn’t seen the missing two soldiers since Ebon Point.
After being angrily accused of lying and being dismissed, the Captain of the marines was sent to the docks below and reappeared with that Barnabus fella. Barnabus later approached us and said he managed to smooth things over in Thule and explain Marie was ill due to effects of the Revanarum, but that he had been teaching her powerful techniques to resist their effect on her mind. They had needed to hide to keep Marie from being overwhelmed and possibly turned to the Revanarum. So the truth was definitely out now…we had been caught directly lying to the upper Marshall. I figured things would be no big deal…
The Captain of the marines, Darby, shortly notified us that Thule had stripped Kai of her command and us of our ranks and that he was now our commanding officer. The footmen where now in command of the knights. That’s a switch. I heard there was brief discussion of placing Vallen in charge, who was not there during our interrogation, but word got out he was a little “weird,” so that didn’t happen. Not a big deal about getting’ demoted; I’ve found fancy titles and ranks never amount to much in the field compared with proper skill with a blade and the ability to keep a calm head. In addition, Darby seems like a nice enough fellow. He wakes us up for roll call, gives us our daily duties, and leaves us alone for most of the day. I have the impression he has no idea what to do to manage us, or he is afraid of what may happen if he does try to actually enforce any real authority. Overall, I’ve been fine with Darby. He leaves us alone, doesn’t cause me any real trouble, which is just the way I like it. In fact, he’s probably been a little too relaxed with us, since shortly after he let Kai get away with shooting Marcus in his rear end and sending us off to the Gauntlet.
About that incident, I’ve been a bit surprised how quiet we all have been…Being forced into combat with each other in the Gauntlet has strangely not created much distance between the group, but still brought its own problems. Ever since being brought back by Vallen, I’ve had a random numbness come and go on my left arm. This is concerning since I heavily rely on it for blocking and defense, so hopefully I can find a way to manage during combat. Kai seems to be more forgetful than usual since the Gauntlet, but otherwise seems ok. Vallen really is an oddball, always seems to have been from what I can tell, but thankfully he seems to still be on our team. He could have left us all dead, but willingly brought us back. I’ve said hello whenever I see him, but mostly have given him some space. We seem to be on decent terms, no grudges, considering we tried to kill each other not that long ago.
Our ship, the Young Lady, was made ready and set sail for our next destination three days ago. The Silver Order base in Thule charged us with locating another magical orb for communication, like the one already on our ship. There was one previously located in some Southern Swampland place, apparently abandoned by a previous Silver Order mission, but its exact location is unknown. We’ve been tasked to find it as the first stage in our mission to go to the Isle of Mar and find some magical crystal things.
Since setting sail, each of us has had our own tasks to deal with. I continued with saying my hellos to Vallen when I saw him, but he’s been odd as of late…or odder than usual in any case. He walks around wearing these ridiculous looking periscopic goggles, and recently he obtained some seashell necklace from the islanders. He definitely has been noticed by the crew when walking above deck, who snigger and seem to enjoy making fun of the guy. They are lucky Vallen doesn’t care or take notice, since he could burn the whole lot of ‘em alive if he wished. Most of the time, Vallen doesn’t discuss or interact with any of the group much, only saying he’s busy. I noticed him spending time with the matrons when we were on the island, working on some secret project. Since heading out to sea, he’s spent most of his time studying some strange book in the cargo hold. Kai wanted to convince Vallen to help teach her to read, I guess to bond with him or something, but no luck. I figure it’s better to leave the guy alone for now. He’s been through a lot…plus he has that big golem thingy, Lloyd, around in tow, so it’s best not to aggravate the mentally unstable guy and have him sic the damned thing on all of us.
Kai and Adoril kept busy teaching Elre acrobatics and other combat moves. Elre in turn has taught Adoril how to whittle little figures from wood. Adoril proudly showed me one he carved himself of Elre’s magical steed. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I thought it resembled more of a cat. We’ve all clearly become too bored, and it’s only been a few days we spent on the ship. I feared some of us would become as insane as Vallen. Other than whittling, Adoril was mostly napping on deck undisturbed. Nate has no longer been skulking around with us since the island. He woke up Adoril after one morning, standing on our magical chest, grinning like an idiot. Adoril let us know Lady Ulene, our mysterious benefactor, had sent us some magical serving dish that could be filled with water to reveal her face so she could speak with us. She asked Nate to return to her and ordered us to keep the dish with us at all times so we could communicate. Since Nate returned to Lady Ulene, Kai has been in better spirits. So has Adoril. I wonder if Lady Ulene is also in good spirits with Nate around all the time. That creature can be annoying.
Elre managed to get permission from Darby to practice flying his magical steed over the ocean as we’ve been sailing, again, good laid back chap that Darby, so I kept a watchful eye on Elre to make sure he didn’t get knocked off by accident and get himself drowned. I respect Elre as a comrade, but he seems to be remarkably clumsy for an elf. I had heard elves were graceful, but I suppose this is just some false stereotype. Either that, or we lucked out poorly and had the clumsiest elf in all of Hauther join the Silver Order.
Kai revealed that Marcus has been getting into trouble as usual. He is a skilled fighter, but he tends to be a troublemaker more than anything for our group. Likely his unruly, poorly disciplined nature is due to his lawless past as a smuggler and pirate. Apparently, he’s been carrying these strange magical stones, he calls “prison stones,” which can trap a person within and be easily carried and hidden. Marcus told Kai he wished to put Marie inside one to keep her “safe” until Barnabus could find a cure for her mental state. Kai later told me she wanted to kill Marcus on the spot… she knew of such stones, which had been used to capture and smuggle her own native people as slaves to other areas. How did Marcus come across such objects…he claimed to have no involvement with slavery himself, but who can say? How did he know of the stones? The more I learn about the guy, the sleazier he seems to be. I’m shocked the Silver Order allows such people to become knights instead of executing them as criminals. Most everyone in our squad is rather shocking in one way or another. Anyway, I guess we’re stuck with him.
Marcus suggested his crazy idea to Barnabus, who thought the whole thing sounded like nonsense. Barnabus has mostly kept a steady distance from Marcus ever since, although I did hear he agreed to teach him some mental techniques. Probably because he was worried Marcus was already going insane and wished to keep him from turning into a full nut job. Marcus does have a knack for saying weird things…he recently told me what I guess was a joke: “What kind of Silver Knight Marine can’t swim…a Submarine.” Then he started laughing. I didn’t get it, the “joke” made no sense. What the heck is a submarine anyway? I once knew a dwarf with a personality almost like Marcus back at base camp in Lahmekh. He was always joking, talking, and annoying everyone he met. From what I remember, he ended up getting his bedroll soaked in strohm urine. Our superior officers weren’t too concerned with finding out who was responsible, probably because he annoyed them too. I wonder if the same may happen to Marcus. Not that I would have anything to do with it, but someone. A dwarf can dream…
More likely, Marcus will get himself killed or the rest of us in trouble with command. Kai did share a recent incident with me about Marcus being an idiot again. For some reason, he wants to inspect the ship, and somehow talked Kai into helping him try to steal the Captain’s clothes and transforming into him to help avoid suspicion as the two planned to investigate the ship at night. Problem is, they haven’t found a chance to do it. Marcus tried searching bilge, but didn’t bring any light or have a clear idea of what he was doing, as usual. From what I heard, he ended up wasting an hour thrashing around blindly in the bilge while getting covered with nasty water and rat bites. At least we found a use for the new magical bathtub….Marcus was able to use it to wash the nasty smell off him so he wouldn’t stink up the crews sleeping quarters. I really don’t understand why Kai is encouraging his nonsense. It’s a ship, what’s the need to search it over for anyway? Waste of time, if you ask me. Trying to steal a superior officer’s clothes and searching a ship over at night is likely to get us all into further trouble with top brass. I keep my mouth shut though. I may not like it, but they’re not deserting the Order or being traitors, so I ignore it.
The third day at sea was pretty quiet when Darby finally approached us to tell us that we would be arriving near our destination and needed to gear up by morning. We’d be headed into the swampland, taking with us a small squad of marines and riflemen, about twenty of us in total, into uncharted territory. There would be danger, I could feel it. Since leaving the island a couple days ago, everyone had become increasingly on edge. The presence of the Revanarum has returned in the air, and the sea breeze carried whisps of death. I felt really uneasy…never seen a swamp before.
Today, day four, the Captain approached me and asked if it was true I had background as a soldier. I said yessir. I was surprised when he told me I would be placed in charge of the entire mission into the swamplands, and tasked with finding the magical orb, scouting the terrain to find out what happened to the previous Silver Order mission and knights, but avoiding unnecessary risks. I was reminded this was not our primary mission and to keep the marines and soldiers safe. I thought it strange I was being tasked with this responsibility, partly because I was a dwarf, but I gathered the Captain was a bit young and inexperienced, and probably had no one else in mind to put in charge. Still, I wasn’t happy, but I’ve been raised a soldier, and am used to obeying orders. I did my best to set about organizing our boats and preparing the troops.
To my surprise, Marie was also ordered to come along. The young lady is basically a kid to me, and obviously sick. I have no idea how she became a Silver Knight. She seemed to be terrified as a mouse. But she spoke Hudu, and apparently the area we were headed into could have Hudu-speaking natives, so she was ordered to come along as a translator. Kai and Adoril volunteered to keep a close eye on her. I worried that Barnabus would not be coming along to help keep her calm, but it wasn’t my choice.
We shoved off in three small vessels, a small whaling boat which fit six people, and two rowboats each capable of holding seven. Marcus, Elre, and I took the lead in the whaling boat, easier to get into an area or out of trouble quickly, with Kai, Vallen, Adoril and Marie following behind with a couple of riflemen and a marine. Other marines and riflemen took up the rear in our third rowboat. I had Marcus…good for at least something with his navigation skills…scout ahead with his spyglass for danger as we entered with swamplands, looking for solid land to go on foot. Things remained quiet awhile until we encountered something ahead. Not wanting to take risks, I called on Kai to shoot it with an arrow. Nothing happened. As we approached, I realized we had “killed” half of a ship hull, possibly wreckage from the previous mission that had sunk close to shore. Adoril and I inspected the wreckage for some time, but we both found nothing. No markings to identify where it came from. We continued on, following the narrowing swamp marsh, looking carefully for signs of land.
I didn’t see him at first, but Kai noticed a small boy looking at us from within some bushes. She attempted to get Marie to speak with the boy, who called out “Hello”…in Hautherian. The boy disappeared. That got my attention. I yelled out that the natives did not likely understand Hautherian and told Marie to use Hudu if we encountered any other natives along the way. The kid was a bit naïve, and that could get us into trouble. Hopefully, if any local could see we had one of their own, maybe they would help direct us instead of try to murder us from above. After seeing the boy, we headed right towards the direction the child must have headed. It was our only lead.
I remember hearing a splash before noticing anything. We all began to notice some large shapes, about 3 feet long, floating on the water, and approaching the boats. Careless and a bit too late, I ordered Kai and the others to begin firing on the strange creatures, but at least a few had gotten close enough to the front two boats to attack. At first they seemed to be large amphibious reptiles, I think someone called them crocodiles or something, but then one managed to jump over the side of the boat by me and try to bite down with large jaws. It was more than just a creature: it was shaped like a crocodile man with large claws.I blocked the wide mouth of the one who attacked me with my shield. Then there was chaos for a few minutes. I cut one in half and threw it off my shield as Elre finished another one next to me. Kai had received several crippling bites, but Vallen had managed to ward off a couple with a magic shield. A marine next to me also had sustained injuries. Eventually, we managed to kill several of the other beasts. The remaining creatures decided to retreat to the depths below. Afterward, it seemed rather easy. All bite and no brawn. Thankfully, Kai and the marine were able to be healed, and everyone in the company had survived the attack. We proceeded further along the swamp bank unmolested.
After some time, Marcus spotted a dock built out of the remains of a ship’s hull, perhaps the other half of the one we had seen earlier. An older Hudu man was watching us. Marie was asked to communicate in Hudu, but he entered the makeshift shack and shut the door. We docked and secured the three boats by the structure, and I ordered the marines from the third boat to remain to stand guard. Adoril wished to knock down the door to the shed, but I ordered him to stand down…we didn’t need to show force against any villagers. We would need their cooperation, and breaking down a door to interrogate an old man would make us appear to be hostile. The last thing we needed was a fight with a village full of people in unknown terrain. Marie attempted to peacefully communicate yet again, but the man ignored us. We continued onto the swamp grounds, locating a well worn path, obviously used by the other locals.
Elre was asked to take the lead as our tracker and lead scout, since he had good skills, was quick to retreat with that steed of his if needed, and had a good sense for danger. We came across a small makeshift village with chickens roaming around and a series of shack homes, simple and primitive, all with their doors shut. There were obvious signs of life, but we were clearly not being welcomed. These locals were not comfortable with outsiders. Marie was asked to call out, announcing that we were friendly and meant no harm…but we heard nothing.
During this time, Marcus grabbed a chicken. Not clearly understanding what the idiot was doing, I watched as he took out a potion, I think a love potion…and proceeded to pour it into the throat of the chicken. He then thrust the chicken towards my face, at near eye level. I think it may have been Kai who asked what he was doing, but I was thinking the same…I eventually understood Marcus must have been trying some childish prank. I briefly entertained the thought of hacking Marcus in half with my axe…Vallen could always bring him back…or better yet, not…but deep down I knew I couldn’t murder this idiot, especially if I was placed in command of getting everyone back alive. Before I could start drill-sergeant-swearing at Marcus, I saw another villager approach, an older man, yelling at us. He did not seem to be a threat, but was clearly angry. In broken Hautherian, he managed to communicate, “Why you…steal…chicken?”
Marie attempted to calm the man down, and after a minute of trying different languages, was able to successfully talk and understand him. She identified the man did speak and understand Gataran, an ancient version of Hudu, which Marie knew. Adoril had Marie explain we were not thieves, and Marcus was a fool we kept around to bring us good luck. The man remained upset, but seemed to understand the idea. When asked if he could tell us anything about the area, he said that we needed to speak with someone known as “Mamadeaux…she knows everything.” I could not place exact accent or correct pronunciation of the name, but we followed as the man led us down a primitive path to see ‘Mamadeaux.’ We noticed several strange markers along both sides of the path…Elre identified them as some sort wards, which Marie said were used by the villagers to keep away evil spirits.
We were led to an old woman, very old, skinning snakes with a small knife, who seemed to have no eyes or ears. She was blind, probably deaf as well. I was confused…this was the person we would get answers from? Marie asked if this was Mamadeaux, but the man just laughed and pointed inside the small hut. At this point, to keep the peace, I figured Marie as translator should speak with the woman, and for Adoril to accompany her for protection and to assist with diplomacy. I have many strengths, but diplomacy and control over a fiery temper at times is not one of them. The rest of us waited restlessly outside while Adoril and Marie entered the nearby hut.
After some time, Adoril exited the hut, alone. He filled me in that the village elder they called Mamadeaux was very weird and had a desire to take his eyes, as in to keep for herself. She was also able to speak in Hautherian. As a compromise to not getting any eyes as a gift, she had been willing to give us information in return for time alone to speak with Marie, which Marie had hesitantly agreed with. I had to admit, the kid seemed to have some spirit for such a tiny mouse of a soldier. Adoril filled me in that he had been warned to stay away from the Ancient Place, and this may have been the last known location of the Silver Knights, those who disappeared six years ago. Adoril had insisted he be given the location, and so the woman had taken his hand, took out a knife, and cut his palm. Some strange blood magic had been used… I inspected Adorel’s hand…there was blood still on it, but it was moving and swaying in different directions, all pointing towards the same direction. It appeared to be acting as some strange blood compass, giving the direction that would take us to the Ancient Place. I was surprised Adoril had the patience to not cut the woman in half, but thanks to his cool head, we at least had a lead now on where to go.
After about fifteen minutes, Marie reappeared, shaken and disturbed from her experience talking with the strange old woman. Whatever else was said, I may never know, but one message was made clear…Marie warned we should not to be at the Ancient Place at night for the power of the place would consume us. It is coming up on midday, and that is where we are now headed.
This is the end of my Soldier’s entry for now. Time for our short rest is over, and so we head now to unknown and hostile terrain deep in the swamp. With any luck we can find the orb and leave this place quickly without any trouble. Hopefully, we all live to fight another day, and I remain alive to record my thoughts at another time. As always, if I should fall in battle, and someone find my corpse with this journal, I request my body be returned to the mountains in Lahmekh, my native homeland. Bury me with my axe and shield, a soldier honored in death. Until that day arrives, I soldier on.
-Tavin Grimmane, Dwarven Knight of the Silver Order
Augustus’s Letter to his Mother
By Arthur Winks
Dearest Mum,
I’m beginning to doubt we’ll come back from this mission. I hope if we don’t that this letter finds its way to you somehow. I can’t even fully describe everything that’s happened over the last day. I’m sure you will think I have made it all up.
Twelve of my fellow marines and I left the ship in three smaller boats along with the Silver Nutters, apparently in search of a previous expedition. What followed was like something out of a bad dream. After hours of paddling through stinking swamp, we were set upon by some sort of water dragons. Some of my fellows were grievously injured, but with the amazing fighting and healing skills of the Knights, we managed to fight them off without losing a man. I’m starting to see why the Silver Order puts up with the eccentricities of these Silver Knights. Their abilities are impressive.
Shortly after this we came upon a broken-down hut occupied by an old man who seemed reluctant to speak to us. I was ordered to stand guard over the boats whilst the Knights and the rest of the marines went overland in search of more natives. I’m not what happened to them, although my companions tell me the encountered a village and were almost set upon by a mob when one of the Knights tried to steal a chicken (mad, like I said). Fortunately for those of us at the boats, we saw no more of the vicious water creatures and time passed uneventfully until the others returned.
The Knights seemed to know where we were going, so we followed them for several hours until we came upon some sort of ruined temple or structure half submerged in the swamps. I have never seen the like of this building, like a weird pyramid. It seemed like something out of one of the old stories. The Knights were fascinated by it, but us marines were more interested in not getting ambushed by the water dragons again.
After this the Knights led us to another ruined structure nearby, much larger than first, and from here we could see several other small buildings surrounding this large one. Searching the area around the large structure, we discovered four bodies, clearly silver order by their clothing. We did our best to cover the bodies somewhat and give them something of a crude burial. The Silver Knights, however, seemed too preoccupied with stripping the bodies of valuables. They explained, understandably, it was Silver Order property and items that may help us in our mission, but they were rather mercenary about it all, which disturbed the other guards and I.
Then more strangeness ensued. From my position near the boats, I could not see all that went on, but from what I gather, they discovered some sort of entrance at the top of the pyramid. Apparently, as ludicrous as it sounds, the Jovaran Knight decided it would be a good idea to jump into this entrance on his own (rather brash, but then again the knights are eccentric and powerful). What followed was quite bewildering; there was a lot of screaming and shouting, and then suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light from the top of the pyramid. I was quite blinded, and by the time my sight returned the Jovar had been hauled out to the temple, clearly mortally wounded. One of his legs was withered away to a twig and he was barely conscious. But clearly this is quite normal for the Knights as the dark-skinned elf tended to him for a few minutes and then he was right as rain again!
Following this we left for one of the other nearby structures. The Knights believed we may find another entrance there, which there was. It was filled with water though, so they despatched their dwarf to investigate (apparently all dwarves are excellent swimmers). He confirmed that there was a passage leading to the main structure but was attacked by something and barely escaped before he could explore further. The Knights believe that the creatures that attacked the Jovar and the dwarf do not like the light, so it was decided to make camp and try again in the morning. So, we’ve just finished setup up camp on a small patch of dry land next to this small pyramid. We’ve attempted to block the entrance at the top of the structure in case these creatures venture out. Myself and the Jovar Knight are to take first watch over it.
This place gives me the creeps though. There are all sorts of strange lights and noises out in the swamp. The Dwarf has already spent half an hour chasing some sort of phantom lady out into the gloom. I cannot shake the feeling that this mission is doomed.
Love,
Augie
P.S.: I’m now quite certain we are all going to die. I’m amazed to still be alive, and it is only due to the miraculous healing powers of the dark-skinned elf that I’m even able to write this. I don’t really know what happened. Myself and the Jovar, Adoril, were keeping watch when suddenly everything went pitch black, some sort of sorcerous darkness. I could hear noises coming from the entrance below me, so I fired blindly into the dark. I’m pretty sure I hit something, and we called out to the camp to rouse them.
The darkness kept blinking on and off, and in the glimpses of light I saw what can only be described as a vision of hell. Some sort of tentacle flying horror had attached itself to Adoril’s head, and he was stabbing at it frantically. I tried to help him, but a black form reached out of the darkness and grabbed my leg. I’ve never experienced pain like that. I could feel the life draining from my body, and before I knew it, I had collapsed. I could hear the sounds of battle raging around us, and I kept firing my rifle into the darkness below me until I had run out of bullets, quite certain that this was the end for me. I don’t know exactly what happened next, but I felt a crushing weight land on my chest and then disappear, and then another and another, until I finally lost consciousness.
But then suddenly I awoke. All pain had gone, and the elven healer was leaning over me. Somehow we had survived. Adoril had managed to fight off the flying monster with the help of some of my fellow riflemen. My companions tell me we were also attacked by some strange doglike creatures from the swamp at the same time as the horrors emerged from the pyramid. Bertie nearly bought it, but was saved by a fireball from the elven healer and by my fellow marines who leaped in to help him.
We’re now all huddled together on this pyramid, trying to rest and recover, praying that nothing else attacks us before the morning. But I know something will. This awful swamp will not stop until it has killed us all. Even now I see unnatural lightning flickering in the distance. Something approaches.
Whoever finds this please tell my mother I died bravely.
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