Sigrid's Journal 13 - Fire and Fears

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Fourthmonth 3

I spent most of the day stitching up the Ocean Blade's spare sails, a task I had been long neglecting. I don't like sewing. If I had wanted to sew, I would have become a seamstress. I became a Knight. Obviously, this should imply that I do not want to sew. I did some stitch work as a child, and had to do some sewing as a Squire as well. A Knight is expected to maintain and repair her own gear, including linens. I asked Blank why he didn't sew his own sails. He simply reminded me that I was the Quartermaster. He also mentioned that if he needed to repair his sails, he would simply steal new ones. Not buy, mind you, but steal. What an interesting life I have nowadays.

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Fourthmonth 4

One of the kids accidentally dropped a crate of rum bottles she was carrying up to the deck. The bottles, of course, shattered and the rum spilled all over the deck. Commodore Blank rushed to the scene of the accident, but there was nothing he could do. The rum was gone. He kneeled and looked over the remains, sputtering, “My precious...,” and “I never even got to drink you.” I pulled him away and berated him for being an idiot, but it didn't seem to help. He went back to work, but he was very subdued for the rest of the day. At one point, I could swear I saw a tear run down his cheek.

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Fourthmonth 5

There was quite a lot of blood in the water this morning. While I was looking at it, Mark joined me. He looked at the water and grinned. “Mmmmh... fish blood,” he muttered, “Must have been some very hungry sharks this morning.” Then he looked at me and grinned. I don't think he meant any threat, but he really creeped me out.

I spent the rest of the day in the crow's nest.

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Fourthmonth 6

We got into Ao-Manasa very early this morning. When we docked, I went over to the Fearful Lightning to see what had been done with Gannen. I was greeted by a rather gruff-looking sailor. It took me a second, but I eventually realized that he was indeed Gannen. Those kids really did a good job on him. He decided to stay at the boat, to minimize any contact he may have with the Ao-Manasa guards.

Blank went off to visit with Taevin Brightfind while Soern, Rellik,and I hung out at the docks. Rellik revealed to us the name of his next mark, which was Kandla. I knew I had heard the name before, but I couldn't put my finger on where. Blank soon returned and told us that Taevin's client had become very interested in swords. Blank had informed Taevin that we had a possible lead pertaining to a sword. Taevin told him he would try to set up a meeting directly between Blank and the client.

We then headed down to the Black Angle. We socialized for a while. I asked Tilienne if she knew anyone by the name of Kandla. She said that Kandla co-owned The Nightingale's Mane with her twin sister Kindli. Of course. I had walked passed there several times while in the market district. It was a mgical items shop.

We decided to pay a visit to The Nightingale's Mane. One of the twins was there, but we didn't know which one. We did a little shopping while we were there. I acquired a minor amulet of natural armour. I spoke with the shopkeeper and discovered that she was Kindli. Kandla was apparently at sea and would return within several days.

The day was still young, so we decided to pay a visit to Illiam's alleged pirate base. We sailed up the coast and entered the magical fog that had so ungraciously trapped us before. This time, however, we emerged into a cove. There wasn't much in the cove except one cave. There were some orangish flickering lights coming from inside the cave. We decided to investigate and left the kids with the boats.

As we entered the cave, we were beset by a group of fire elementals, which promptly lit me and Gannen on fire. With some liberal use of Blank's ice power, as well as some pretty exceptional fighting on Gannen's part, we managed to kill them.

We continued on into the cave, a little singed, but all in all, not in bad shape. I noticed this very acrid smell that made me cough a couple times. Mark, Rellik, and Gannen also seemed mildly bothered, but Soern and Blank went into absolute coughing fits. When they finally stopped, they did not look very well. They both said they didn't feel very well either. We kept going and ended up in a small antechamber, which was adorned by tables. The tables were covered in papers, which I immediately began rummaging through. Most of it was pretty useless. Some of the papers appeared to be the rantings of a madman. Here are a couple of my favourites:

Reasons why the great Commodore Illiam is better than the puny Blank:

• Commodore Illiam is a great and mighty Commodore. Blank is a foolish man.

• Commodore Illiam has a great fleet and wonderful crew. Blank has one little rowboat and is followed by incompetent fools.

• Commodore Illiam has a great and mighty plan. Blank is so foolish, he is incapable of great and mighty plans.

Note to self: You can never add too much fire. If a plan is failing, add more fire. If something is boring, add more fire.

Of actual note, there were two papers. One was a map of the region, which had the Island of the Jeweled Trees, as well as another unbeknownst location, which the Aur Xica identified as the capital of the Hor Quan Empire. The second paper was a list of names and things. Some items were crossed out. I will transcribe this into my journal so I do not forget it.

Heir
Key
Seed
Temple
Aur-Xica

Sa-Follen
Kedlar Mevarin
Dialle Westing
Uthar Kalenil
Raviye Baron

Dar-Shada
Mischa Mevarin
Gannen Tazhiren
Parrel
Hellas
Ratham
Iu-Malan

I saw the name Tazhiren and just about freaked out. I had suspected that Gannen was a descendant of Dyeza Tazhiren, but he had never told me his surname before. I was also concerned about the particular names that were crossed out. They were all dead (or at least taken care of in one way or another). Gannen didn't seemed too pleased either.

We heard some voices, so Rellik decided to sneak up the stairway at the other end of the room, and within moments, I heard a scream as a battle commenced. I raced up the stairs and charged into the fray. There were two human women, who appeared to be magisters, and a man who was more over-the-top piratey than even Blank. I assumed he was Illiam. I also recognized one of the women as Kindli, who I had just seen earlier this day. Then I realized this was probably Kandla. The battle was relatively short. Blank and Illiam yelled at eachother the whole time. Illiam's more of a crazy egomaniac than Blank, that's for sure. At one point, Gannen and I had flanked Illiam. I hit him with the Aur Xica, and he drew his attention to me. He laughed and said I was foolish to bring the Aur Xica and Gannen Tazhiren to him. He even insinuated that I was more foolish than even Blank. Gannen then knocked him out.

I turned my attention back to the rest of the battle. Kandla lay on the floor dead. The other magister woman was on the floor as well, but she was breathing. We tied up Illiam and the Magister woman. Gannen and Mark decided to stay and watch them, to make sure they didn't wake up and escape. The rest of us went exploring. We found a few storerooms with various goods. We dragged it out to the main room to be loaded onto the ships. We then found a ladder which lead up to another room. In the room, we found a Giant tied to a chair, gagged. I removed the gag and he told us his name was Dar-Shada, and that he was a guard from Ao-Manasa. On the other side of the room, I noticed Ao-Manasa guard equipment, so his story checked out. He said he had been captured by the pirates here. I asked Blank, Rellik, and Soern to untie Dar-Shada and help him gather his gear while I slipped down the ladder and back into the main room. I warned Gannen that there was a guard upstairs and he would do well to go hide on the Ocean's Blade, which he did.

A few minutes later, Rellik, Blank, Dar-Shada, and Soern emerged. We gathered up our ill-begotten goods and loaded the ships. By this time, the sun was setting and we decided to head back to Ao-Manasa right away. Ea-Shamar will want her lost Guard back.

We're near the coast, so the kids can handle the boat for the night.

The list concerns me. I don't want to have to worry about something happening to Gannen again. I've been trying to keep him in my sight as much as possible since we got him from the prison, but I can't protect him all the time. He doesn't necessarily even need my protection. He's just as strong as I am, if not stronger. Why do I worry about other people all the time? Why do I worry that I just won't be good enough to protect people? Why do I even feel I must protect people all the time? I just don't want anything bad to happen to people.

I always want a cause. I'm never just content doing something for myself, or doing something for no reason. I need a reason. I need a cause. I like to look at the big picture. I am but one person. One person, alone, rarely changes the world. Sure, one person's ideas can change the world, but not usually one person by action alone. They need helpers. They need followers. They need people behind them in their grand quest. History may not always remember the army, but they were always there.

I don't want to be important myself. I want to be a part of something important. I want to be involved with something larger than myself. I don't want history to remember me as a leader of some great cause. But perhaps I will follow such a leader. Perhaps I will be some leader's right-hand-man. Perhaps I will protect such a leader with my life. That's what I really want, I think.

Maybe it's my destiny to help others achieve their destinies.