The Dacino's Duty

[Hoihe]

"Mirtul 23,

A curiousity has ensued. It would seem I am too quick to judge coincidences. It was always a phenomenon that helped me, one way or another. While the reward does not appear immediately, while the reward may not even be for me.. It always happens. Perhaps through this rushed revelation, perhaps because I learned of Soora's troubled past from it, perhaps because I spoke with Luthien. Perhaps then my oath and wish to help elves will be fulfilled. Even if I do not benefit from it directly, I will benefit in the way of seeing the scars and wounds of her past hopefully mended. And should Hanali find us deserving of each, then so shall coincidences drives us together. Patience is the key to success in any endeavour."


(( P.S: Thanks to recent developments, I'm getting Epic Feat: Great Wisdom +1 for Hoihe next chance I get! And that is, 24800 XP later.))

[Hoihe]

"Mirtul 31,

Patience has paid off. Things are relatively back to normal and as always, hope remains. Things are back to normal at least in part of what I broke. Nothing is -ever- normal on the Sword Coast."

[Hoihe]

"Poem:

I may not know...

I may not know what the distant waves of the sea mean to another,
But to me, they mean freedom and beauty.
But it also means pain and suffering, for it'd cause cruelty rather,
than sympathy. But the thing that counts is the journey
The life of a sailor is a hard one, but for explorers, it holds much booty.
However, they are of my childhood, of my lot.
The distant waters hold mystery,
Waiting to be revealed.
Through the awe my travels grant me, my wounds of past are healed.
Freedom of the waters, its my weak spot.

However, I walk once more.
And I dream of the sea
I long for the distances vast
And I dream of the sea
once more, I'll brace the mast
And the grand blues I'll explore

Guided by the moon, lit by our stars
My journey has began decades ago
Guided however, the helm's ours
The chains of fate broke long ago

Coincidences occur,
Gifted by the moon,
I concur,
They are but a rune

Open for interpretation
Yet encoded with a message
Avoiding them is vacation
The approach is the essence

And I dream of the sky
The lunar beauty passing by
And I dream of the sky
Where my ambitions lie.

The end is but the new beginning,
The ways to approach it are many
The ocean has no beginning,
Nor ends, not any.

Sailing is a priceless feel
Guided by the wind,
As if locked by the true seal
And yet, we're not in a bind.

Skill, ambition and drive
By the power of will, we stand victor
And our freedom will survive
The seal is the sign, not the constrictor.

I have learned, that...
You can yearn for life to be simple or
You can learn from strife let it build your core
And refuse, do not let yourself become the fate's mat.

Through experience, we
shall master the wind
And our fates shall,
be guided by our wheel.

And I dream of freedom
Of the way of birds flying past
And I dream of freedom,
For the locks and bars, we blast

So I take to the sea
with those I trust,
Together we see
That fate is not so robust.

Free as a bird
Guided only by
the song I heard
Freedom shall never die"



((((The And I Dream verses are based on Little Sister and Dream of the sky,
The first verse is based on Miklos Radnoti's "Nem tudhatom" poem,
The Yearn for strife part was taken from Savage Side of me, it felt fitting.
Inspiration credit goes to:
Gavin Dune (Miracle of Sound) and Miklos Radnoti.
And even more thanks to Miracle of Sound for:



I've gotten the:
"And I dream of the [Sea,Sky,Freedom]" line from them.
"You can yearn for life to be simple, or
You can learn from strife let it fill your core" pair of lines from the last one.




the rest was put together using Rhyme Zone as a guide to get rhymes together. Other than the parts I've mentioned, the rest is original work written in Hoihe's relationship with Fate. It's his second poem to fate, actually!
))

[Hoihe]

"I've had enough. Time to put my elven lore to test and set the idiots straight. Bloody spreaders of misconceptions, Oghma and Labelas have mercy on them.."

[Hoihe]

"I hope the dukes have common sense enough to understand the danger this book can prove if not relabelled as a piece of satirical comedy or renamed so that it speaks the truth without throwing slander.

Though I doubt it, after they let the local cell leader of Zhentarim go away unscatched..

Humanity, I'm losing hope in you more and more."

[Hoihe]

"Kythorn 29,

It is time for a proper journal entry after so many short scribbles. My hypothesis on Averëon's ail became ever the more stronger as Elvina met a shard of her split soul within the maw of the Beast, in the spirit realm.

She bowed out after the second quest, fearing for her spirit companions' fate as well. I do not blame her. However, once more do I stand alone in this quest. I will try to involve the Clergy of the Seldarine, especially of Sehanine, in order to free Averëon's split soul and combine it with the one still within her body. And, if possible, free the rest. However, my duty ties me to elven souls first and foremost. Even if I wanted the most, I'd be tied to free her and any other elven souls first.

The shards, her spirit said they are the key. Or guide. I will go and search the Minotaur ruins alone or with the clergy of the Seldarine, and look for more of these. And after searching there. I will descend to the Underdark once more and make a deal with the Illithid, for they appear to be ones who can help. An unlikely ally, but a Dacino will ally with anyone other than outsiders from the lower planes, to ensure the best case scenario. The Illithid will be a danger to me only, I will ensure that they cannot harm Averëon. And me? I'm ready to lay down my life.. even my own soul if I can save an elven soul.

I prayed to Sehanine Moonbow throughout the quest. It may seem like she answered, for I learned more and more. A shame she is such a fickle and vague goddess, for answers come only in small portions. None the less, I am the most thankful. After Rico returns from escorting Elvina to the Silver Rose Keep, I will go north to the Fields of the Dead and reap but another victory in her name over the Undead that dwell there. Maybe I'll even challenge some of the Vaults of the Dead to show my faith in her.

Selengil acquired the elven shield, I will need to contact Luthien. Hopefully I will somehow regain it. But, it's in elven hands so I am in a tricky situation. I shouldn't have waited with Geoff. I'm going to punch him for selling it.

Still no clues on whether what I seek to be done upon me was done before, but, It's not an impossibility. Much of elven knowledge was lost to the ages, especially knowledge like this. I will keep searching elven ruins when I am not working on this foul and vile matter.

Lady of moonlight.. give me strength...

For seemingly, a Dacino's duty never ends..

But it shall succeed.. it must..

[Hoihe]

"Flamerule 6,

The High Moors are sure a barren place, and yet, plenty of ruins still standing, if covered in heavy moss and vines. It's difficult to find anything useful there, especially any mentions of "it", but I'll keep looking. You always find the thing you are looking for in the place you'd expect it the least. And records of such a massive and powerful ritual being found in a place as desolate as this, well suffice to say the probability is near zero. But that only makes it better. 1% is more than 99% in some cases. Never tell me the odds, as I say. It WILL happen. One way, or another. It may not happen in THIS lifetime, but it WILL happen. And hopefully, it WILL happen in THIS lifetime, and SOON. "

[Hoihe]

"What a beautiful simile, no Metaphor I've found. I should present it to Sayiel or Amarven the next time I see them.


The soul is just like the Moon. It comes from the distant unknown at the evening, just like the soul comes from the distant planes with gods supporting reincarnation. It shines brightly for what seems like forever, yet when it settles at dawn, it seems so short looking back. It then disappears into the unknown for a while, as the soul takes its rest in the planes it belongs to. Then, it starts all over again in a seemingly endless cycle, just like the endless journey of mystic wonder that is life and death and life again.

I doubt she'll ever read my journal, but, Sayiel has my thanks for telling me this side of the Daughter of the Night skies. So does Amarven and Char for initiating me."


((Yes, Hoihe's no cleric and only has positive wisdom when wearing his +3 wisdom clothing. But he had good teachers, has great access to Lore being a reader and has a sense of "art/poetics" when it comes to observing the world. And being a major conspiracy theorist, he can easily make connections between A or B, whether it's true or not! And he believes what the clergy told him. All he did there was make a simile about two things Sehanine's known for: moonlight/moonbow/fullmoon and Reincarnation/death.

The "What a beautiful Simile, no, Metaphor I've found." basically means that instead of the journey of soul being similar to the movement of the moon, it is the movement of the moon. Or at least metaphorically.

A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things through some connective, usually "like", "as", "than", or a verb such as "resembles". A simile differs from a metaphor in that the latter compares two unlike things by saying that the one thing is the other thing.

[Hoihe]

"Flameheart 29,

The dating of this entry will only tell when it was written, and not the events that it contains. It's been a while since I've had an actual entry, and I have much to write. Perhaps I shall divide it into smaller entries. I'll see as I go.

I'll need a new journal soon, with all the notes I take in it, it's becoming more and more saturated with letters. And my recent project isn't helping either. I've reserved ten pages to copy out parts of the books in Candlekeep in secret so I can copy them into another book and deliver them to Mealir. It'll take a while, especially with my wish of not being spotted. I'm mixing it with my other researches and will strive to make it look like my usual note-taking. I'm not hiring myself a scribe to copy it because I cannot tell it to anyone. What a jumbled mess this became. Cela told Ivan and me.. and Ivan told it to Julindra and others. I wonder if this can be fixed.

I'll expand this entry as I try to think of a proper way to formulate my words.

[Hoihe]

"Eleisias 3

First entry in my new journal. I've damaged my old one to cover my tracks. My bluff worked. As far as I can see, at least. Nobody seems to suspect I copied a rather large and important portion of a few books out to deliver them to the elves. Spent four days awake to make my bluff work, and made it obvious I was rather driven to research the improved Gate spell of mine and the Soul-split research. Any mentions of Obyrith that people could find in my research could easily be connected to the research I do to save Avereon and no mentions of Askavar. I made sure to make it look like I didn't find what I looked for in the books I actually needed.

Since I copied the Askavar information into my journal first, then into a book, I had to damage my journal to make sure people reading it won't figure it out. I left it open and out "accidentally" with ink spilled over the pages containing the volatile information, staining them beyond readability, to deter curious avowed.

In either case, my bluff worked but it has been taxing on me. I need a little rest. That's why I'm in the Misty Forest right now. I've been told that the mist is perhaps a blessing from Sehanine to protect the elves living there. It may be a nice place to spend some time at, a pilgrimage of sorts. I pray to the Daughter of the Night skies each night now and just explore in general. Though.. something is digging at me while I'm here, but I can't put my finger on it. It must be the mist. I've never spent so long in a forest so thick and misty. Must be getting to me. I'll get used to it eventually. In the meanwhile, I'll fight the orcs there to help the local population of elves, provided they even need it, read my books on elven traditions and history and perform my usual prayers. And of course, rest! I need it. Four days spent awake, and now for some days spent lollygagging and just enjoy the scene.

I wonder if I'll accidentally stumble upon the home of En Dharasha Everae. Maybe I'll contact Mendel I'm here.

[Hoihe]

Hoihe looks at his new journal, flipping through many pages of notes and entries not worthy of any mention. Once he comes upon an empty page, he leans over his desk in the Readers' quarters, within his office, and takes a quill in his hand and begins writing:

"Eleias 18,

So many worthless entries I've made in the new journal of mine. I pray this one will not be a disappointment as I look back to it. Well, I did have a good time adventuring for once. Been a while since I felt that way. Most of the adventures I embarked upon as of late were either sullied by a single goal, or by catastrophes. Take the latest adventure with the Flute of Many, Soora got taken away by a Djinni to a plane where time passes faster than on the Prime, causing her to spend many decades away from us. It did manage to break some of my inhibitions. And she did learn some nice tricks, but still. Doing that without warning and not telling her that time passed faster where they were than on the Prime wasn't a nice move. I've a feeling she may have even doubted our survival with so much time passing. Well, things did get back to normal, more or less. I'm indebted as ever, and now to Soora thanks to the latest adventure. Wish I could repay Mealir the same way I will have to repay Soora, well.. not entirely. I don't want to dance with Mealir, I mean in a way that I enjoy. Apparently I enjoy dancing.. may be the company I keep while doing so though. It's said a good company can make anything enjoyable.

As for how I got indebted, well, that's a tale worthy of song. Not the how I got indebted, but rather what happened when I got indebted. And actually, it IS being made into a song. I should seek out Soora and suggest verses. But finding her's too much trouble, and I should finish this entry. Hereby I dedicate this entry to the recording of the adventure of yesterday.

I've been speaking with Rain and Soora outside the Friendly Arm's Inn about random subjects, about Myth Dannor, half-elves, rum and possible destinations to sail to. Nëa came upon us eventually, asking what troubles are we planning. We told her that we're just discussing and our chatter continued until the Acolyte, Alleyne appeared. She asked if we planned to visit any shadowy dungeon to which Rain retorted that she doesn't feel like visiting the Shadow Realm today. As a counter-offer, I proposed the Stone Giants' fortress. It's been a considerable time since I've last been there, so might as well pay it a second visit. Our only problem was, which I mentioned, entering. The place as a mechanism that keeps out physically weak people. Generally non-giants. However, I do possess the strength to move the lever. I'm not enough, unfortunately, for there are two levers that must be held in place at /once/, AND someone needs to enter to pull a lever to make sure the stone gate stays open. Soora got stronger, but she's not strong enough. Nëa's more skill than meat, same for Rain. Alleyne's not particularly dexterous nor strong, but she has magic. And through magic she can transform herself into something with sufficient strength. Like an iron golem. With everything settled, we prepared and set out. I teleported us, and Nea decided to bite my cloak to fulfil the requirement of physical touch. Alleyne bopped me, Soora hugged Nea and Rain put her hand on my shoulder. We sure looked odd to any passer-by passing us by.

We teleported to the stone circle north of Boaresky Bridge, and after warding up we went south. We were, as we expected, ambushed by the Ne'er learn bunch of bandits of that hagspawn. We took care of them quickly and continued on. In the Eastern troll claws I thought I could take a shortcut, but we were met with the cruel way of nature as a large wall of landslide blocked our path. Of course, everyone decided to pick at me, wondering how am I a navigator if I can get lost so easily. Yet they never thank me when I do get them through a maze.. People. In either case, we got to the western troll claws where we decided to pass the time as we searched for a passage to the Underground Fortress by imagining a troll wearing a dress. And having a moustache. And make up. Nëa yelped: "Hoihina troll!", much to my displeasure. But I couldn't grumble, and just chuckled helplessly. After finding a caved in cave, we found a passable tunnel which got us where we wanted. And also brought us to a woman with her head replaced by a boulder. Well, not exactly.. but it looked like it. Rain made a snide remark that we should watch our heads. The area looked safe enough, though, if you don't count the boulders that is, and we decided to rest here for the time being. After redoing our wards we entered.

I explained to Alleyne and the rest how to get in, after Nëa had her fun. The group was most fascinated by the petrified tree, and Nëa, as usual, climbed it. She decided to jump off it though, much to my surprise. After regaining my composure I did the briefing and we went in. Everything went as planned, except for Alleyne's and my inability to push the thing at the same time. Thinking a bit, I sent her a Sending and arranged a time when we both push it. It worked! We rushed to the gate and went after the others. Apparently the windsoul acolyte took the form of a Nightwalker for the job. Soora's comment explained it all: "Spooky." Nëa said something about liking shadows, sometimes. I made no comment, shadows don't know how to play lyres and that's what matters to me. And also that they should leave me alone.

As we ventured forth we finally came across the site where we met the Devil way back. It said we'll all die in 10 days. Well.. we still live. I think, at least. Not sure about the rest of our party back then, but we had no deaths in the Wanderess Crew since then. Within the broken barred prison, we found a curious prisoner. We decided to do good, and liberated the thing. Now it clinks within our pockets. Venturing on, I decided to explore a random well. It had a skeleton in it, and Alleyne had trouble climbing outside. I marked the well for later teleportation and exploration initiation site. At last, we came to a great dining room. Soora and Nëa climbed it, with Soora proposing to dance on it while Nëa was curious about their beverage of choice. Rain, as always, complained about their lack of Rum. We explored the room for a while longer before venturing forth. Armies of stone giants hurled themselves against us. They weren't too much of a challenge. At last we reached the throne room where I called upon an angel to help.. after the fight was over. Perfect timing, I'll say! I apologised to the celestial being and cancelled the contract of four minutes of help. Nëa did as Mealir did, and climbed atop the throne. She wanted to bring it back to the theatre, for reasons unknown to me. I picked the locks of the chests that could be picked, and Alleyne used the giant key to unlock the chest with the oversized keyhole. My lock picks can't do anything versus such a monstrosity. I mumbled about the chests in this area being of very simple locks. To which, to my surprise, came a possible compliment from Rain: "Perhaps you're getting better at picking them." I'm not sure what's going on, Rain giving me a compliment must have a side motive..

Whatever's the case, we were done here and so we moved on. I climbed some boulders and pulled a lever, letting us outside to the room by the throne hall. There I explained that, if my memory served me right, the ledge ahead would lead us outside. They brought up the damn landslide scene again, by the nine! But they listened to me at last, and so we dropped off the ledge into the open.

We still thirsted for adventure, so Alleyne teleported us to Boaresky Bridge again from where we headed towards the Serpent temple. It is worth mentioning that Nëa decided to bite again, this time Alleyne's staff. That girl has strong jaws and teeth. Through our venture in the High Moors, we encountered a Ssvaklor, which Alleyne called a lizard. I was glad to explain that it wasn't a lizard, but a half-dragon half-snake, obviously meaning half-yuan-ti, Rain told me that anything that has scales is a lizard to her, and she doesn't care there are scaleless lizards. Wonder if she considers elves with visible marks of draconic blood lizards..

We fought our way to the temple at last where I had the trio stand vigil for assassins while Alleyne and I took some time to rest. Once we entered we pressed ahead without too much trouble, eventually coming downstairs to a large chamber. I put on my elven cape and examined the tracks. And my search revealed that there was a Hydra nearby. I put back my Cape of Protection and we charged it. It died soon enough. After searchings it body we found a bunch of keys and we set out to find the chests they belonged to. And that we did, but not without the crew complaining about my lack of dwarven underground navigationary skills. Truly now, why do they expect someone who sails to know his way around an underground, snake-riddled temple he barely visits?

Either way, we got to the portal where we were given a warm welcome. We returned the gesture in kind and examined the portal. I told them that the portal was safe to use and we entered. After the next welcoming party, I informed the group that "Safe to use" doesn't mean a lack of snakes waiting for us. It just means that it won't kill you after you enter or throw you at the bottom of the Abyss. The area we ended up in held quite a sight, both natural and dwarven. Pillars of gilded marble! Soora suggested we just take the pillars and go home. I asked if anyone brought a dwarf to mine it out, to which Rain said: "Sure, I've got a dwarf right there, in my pocket." Nëa giggled at that, speaking about pocket-dwarves. I informed Rain to be careful, and not to pull the dwarf by its Beard. Nëa gave a true Remark, If Rain has a pocket dwarf, he shaved it most likely.

We entered the main temple at last and after some exploration we were given a pleasant sight for our sore feet: Cushions! They looked truly inviting, but we had to keep going. The snakes kept sending assassins after us. We decided to follow Nëa's instruction and kept heading left until we came across the foyer of the throne room. I casted a Spell Mantle and charged in, drawing its attention from the rest after Rain or Nëa remarked of the snakes' love to petrify her. I constantly ran my mouth, taunting our opponent while the rest of my party hit her blind spot. It was way too easy. Rain did catch her attention long enough to be petrified, when she was bent over. After a few moments, I fixed her, turning her back to a living creature from a creature of stone. She was the most surprised. But we had no time for surprised grumpy elves, for we had to find our way out.

And eventually we did, going left constantly.. coming upon a few dead ends and comfortable cushion filled rooms, and also bloody dispelling snakes that also managed to curse Soora and me. I did break the curse with ease, so it's nothing worth mentioning. At last we came across a portal and made it to the pedestal, just as my sharp memory explained to them. They did doubt it though, saying it was a lucky guess. They never believe me! Their bad. On the way to the river, I've got hit with a Moon bolt. By Sehanine, I felt weak! I could barely stay upright with the weight my equipment gave me, making any possibility of entering melee non-existent. I took out my bow and took my place beside Soora, taking shots at the snake-folk. We cleared the path and continued onwards. My plea for help was answered by the Snowflake that's closer to me and she gave me a potion of lesser restoration. I owe her some more dances, it seems. Drinking it, I felt strength course through me once again, and celebrated it by rowing all five of us back to Boaresky Bridge.

On our way back to the Gate, the Ne'er learn band ambushed us. We took care of them without a second thought and ventured south. We met Valiant on the way, and passed greetings with him.

And that should be the adventure. it was concluded with Soora, Nëa and I trying to write a song about it. It's not done yet, but then, a good poem or song can take a while to write! Better refine it than rush it.

-Hoihe Dacino

[Hoihe]

Hoihe closes the journal, giving a relived sigh before muttering: "That's a long entry for sure.. It's certainly worthy of mention unlike the mass I compiled since the third."

[Hoihe]

Hoihe sits down by the nightstand in the room he rented from Bentley, laying his journal upon it and the chalky white shards beside it. He looks at them for a while.. then to the shadows in the room. He mumbles: "So you think you can have a piece of me? I think not.. This will be an interesting joust of will. For Sehanine Moonbow..." After his muttering to apparently no one around him, he takes a quill in his left hand and dips the quill in the ink. "Damn it, I shouldn't worry about that thing yet I still do.. I just need to keep myself warded when I can and I'll be alright..She survives just fine.. I'm trained against such.. I should manage even better!"

Finally, after muttering a bit with himself, he gets to writing:

"Eleisas 22-24, year 1359

It was a curious few days. The first things of note were of the good, enjoyable kind. Soora and I caught a little prey for ourselves, an ignorant halfling. We scared him good, it was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we sat around the fire by the Gate's eastern farmlands, exchanging poems. They seemed to like my poem about Freedom rather well.

Eventually Soora wandered off and I decided to go and investigate Rashemen. I grabbed Felian, and went to the Friendly Arms Inn to recruit Za'than. Along the way I recruited Merek who now passes in disguise, Ivan and Araulan.

After I got the shards, we teleported to the distant lands of Rashemen and were baffled at what to do. We just wandered around aimlessly a bit, trying to figure out where we were. Merek reached out and communed with the land, and learned we were at the border of Thay. Great, just what we needed, thayans. We didn't encounter any, but we found the handiwork of theirs. Dead Rashemeni warriors. Merek proposed we bury them, and I agreed. However, we were cut short when we saw an eagle fly unusually low, then fly to the north. We made chase and we came to a Rashemi scout. Merek discussed with him, and convinced him to get us an elder shaman from their village. Their Wychlarran was killed by the Thayans, unfortunately.

I briefed those who were new to the quest about what's going on, asking them to swear not to tell anyone Averëon's name. Eventually the Elder came back, and after a long discussion.. Which was very difficult to bear thanks to her not so perfect hearing, and her misunderstanding of me saying Art, as fart. We had to shout, but we eventually understood each other and she called for a spirit from beyond. It was a benevolent Rashemi man, and I offered a magical lute to him in exchange for his time.

We spoke at length, and I learned that the shards are indeed a key. The key to severing the connection the creature of darkness has with its beacons. I believe that the gem Averëon encountered made her a beacon, despite her wishes. Thanks to the connection she has with the creature, and the wound she initially suffered, she suffers nightmares and the rest of her afflictions. We believe severing the connection will restore her. She'll be traumatized, but she'll be safe and in time, she'll get over this dark period.

However, it seems the creature has caught me as well. Not yet, but it knows of me. It will come for me, and try to bend my will to its enigmas. I'll need to stay strong of faith, and steadfast and I'll survive. I've a feeling eventually it will be a race of whether I find all the shards, or whether my willpower gives up. I wonder if this means I'll begin suffering the same afflictions as she does, nightmares, feeling of being watched and the occasional attempt to possess me. I'm not sure, but if that's the case then I already know the ways to counter it. I just hope I won't end up locked in Candlekeep or other "havens" unless on a quest to gather the other shards. After my discussion with the ghost, in which when I asked the creature's name, I felt as if a dagger stabbed at my mind, for a moment, but there was nothing else. I'll need to research what that can mean.

In either case, it seems like I no longer have to go to the Underdark, which is good. I'm sure Soora will enjoy those news. My next destination is the old temple in the High Moors, and I'll take Mendel, Enalatha, Nai and maybe Andariel if he tags along. They may be long forgotten secrets in there, maybe a shard even.

Sehanine guide me.

[Hoihe]

"Eleint 23,

Another day spent searching for clues as to the shards. Random books in random dungeons, and random lunatics I stalked. At least, on the bright side, my stealth skills will improve from following madmen about. Unfortunately, or fortunately, none of them seem connected with the Elder Darkness case..

However, this day was spent a bit different than most. Soora and I, also Nëa and Ameris travelled to the Frost Giant keep to keep their numbers down. In there, I've found an old elven leather armour. "Greenleaf", I identified its name as such. Looks like I'm getting a full elven-crafted equipment eventually.

Yesterday, I've stalked a random dwarf with the intent of pranking him. He led me to a secret entrance to the city of Baldur's Gate, where, after picking the lock on a grate, I stumbled into a house with some shady merchant. He did not really pay mind to me, and eventually I recognised him as the seller of my shortsword. Looks like there's a secret way into and out of the city, though I wonder how many know of it."

[Hoihe]

"As I think on what the spirit told me, I'm losing my certainty of my resolve not to use it. And such, I'll get rid of it. It's not like I'm using it anyway.."