Nell's Diary

14^th of Octumbre, 1581 TR

Dear Diary,

What the hell is wrong with men?

First they promote you (2^nd Lieutenant, Junior Grade), and give you a beautiful shield (another family heirloom), and then they completely ruin the moment by accusing your companion(s) of betraying the empire. At least, that’s what my uncle Percival did. He’s a captain, and I’ve never met him before. He’s hardly ever mentioned at home; I think he and Father had a falling out of some sort.

But that’s not even the worst of it. After vigorously defending my companions’ honor, I was told that my “friends” had stolen away, WITHOUT ME, after strict orders not to leave Bayview. They didn’t even bother to leave a note! Is this what I get for my loyalty? I understand if there was a dire emergency, but if they had time to pack up their belongings then they had time to WRITE A BLOODY NOTE. It didn’t have to say why they left or where they were going, if such information was too sensitive, but it could have at least said, “Sorry Nell, we had no choice but to leave now. We would never abandon you without a good reason.”

Men. Honestly.

My uncle instructed me to go after my companions and make sure they did not let the key to the Crystal Tomb fall into Orgoshi hands. I asked around town to try and find out how and why my companions left. After talking to a drunkard, I discovered that he had ferried them across the sea. When my uncle confronted me about my progress I instinctively lied. But I’m not a good liar, and my uncle wrested the truth from me.

I’m still not sure why I lied. I think I was partly humiliated to discover that my companions had up and left against orders and without leaving an explanation for me. I was hoping the drunk had overheard their conversation, that they had left a message for me with him, or that they had at least mentioned feeling guilty about leaving without me. Alas, they did neither. The other reason I tried to lie to my uncle was loyalty. It’s ludicrous to suggest that I should be loyal to my companions above the Watchguard, especially my uncle, but when you travel day and night with a group of people, relying on them to watch out for you and looking out for them in return, enduring countless dangers and injuries, it’s incredibly hard not to put your loyalty to them above all others. I couldn’t fathom that they had left without good reason.

But I digress. After discovering where they’d gone, my uncle instructed me to follow and bring the key and my companions back, whether they wanted to return or not. I was given a party of a dozen soldiers, and I was expected to lead them. Being promoted is wonderful and filled me with pride – actually owning up to the responsibilities of my new rank made me nauseous. Thankfully the sergeant was very knowledgeable.

We were ferried across the sea as my companions had been. We knew the general direction they would be heading. Later that day, as we trekked across the snow, the ground suddenly gave way beneath me. I dug my armor into the ice and managed not to fall down a long tunnel. I did, however, lose my grip on my maul, and it slid down the passageway. I could just see it at the bottom, and decided to go after it. Just as I was reaching for my beloved maul, I heard a growl coming from two glowing blue eyes. The eyes belonged to a huge white wolf, which proceeded to lunge for my throat. I seized my maul and attacked.

This amazing creature, aside from being a wolf, which is dangerous enough as is, could breathe gusts of icy cold air! When he tried to harm me with this power, however, my armor protected me. Then I noticed something even more peculiar – the wolf look puzzled by this. But he continued to attack, so I continued to defend myself. Eventually, when I was about to make the killing blow, the wolf cried out, “Deal!”

Turns out these white wolves can also speak in the common tongue. Needless to say, I faltered. When I regained my composure, I spoke with the wolf. His name was Rolf (you have to really roll the r, so it sounds like growling). He wanted to make a deal with me. In exchange for sparing his life and dispatching of his pack’s Orgoshi master, he and the other wolves would lead me to my companions. This seemed like a good deal to me, so I accepted.

I shouted up to the soldiers to wait for me. Then I followed Rolf to the den of his shaman master. Well, the “shaman” turned out to be nothing more than an Orgosh (of the small, extremely annoying kind) with a few potions, like some alchemist’s fire. He would wave his arms about and chant nonsense before throwing the potion, pretending as if he’d cast a spell. My armor protected me from his mixtures as well as it had against Rolf’s icy breath. I dispatched the “shaman” easily, and quite impressed the wolves. They even took to calling me “Mistress,” which I really enjoyed, to be perfectly honest.

True to their word, the wolves found my companions’ trail and tracked them to a valley. The valley was filled with dead bodies. Some were Orgoshi, some were human; some were Easteners, and some bore flags and banners with emblems I didn’t recognize. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the “valley” had actually been created by a powerful spell. At the center there was a huge pile of bodies. Every minute or so, the pile would quiver. I didn’t know what was underneath, but I had no desire to find out. Rather than walk across the valley to the other end, the soldiers and I traveled around the edge.

When we got to the other side of the valley, we found a body that seemed to end halfway. Now, he wasn’t cut in half in the way you normally see, where the guts are hanging out and there is blood everywhere – he just abruptly ended at the torso. When I tried to walk around him, I disappeared from the soldiers’ view, and inadvertently discovered an illusion. On one side there was a view of snow and trees. But when you stepped past the invisible barrier, the Crystal Tomb came into view.

The soldiers and I marched onward toward the Tomb, but before we reached the gate we could see two creatures guarding the entrance. They were monstrous; slightly translucent blue skin covered their massive bodies. Even from a distance I could see their mighty claws and teeth. They paced in front of the door, their long arms almost dragging on the ground. I knew there was no way we could defeat them.

But past the monsters was the only way through. I froze, couldn’t make a decision. So the sergeant made one for me. He said, “We’ll fend them off while you run through.” Then they charged. As I ran past them into the Tomb, I could see in my peripheral vision the monsters tearing the men apart. Not one survived. If my companions had just waited for me, I could have gone with them and no one need have died. That’s all just wishful thinking now.

Anyway, the Tomb was a labyrinth. I had no idea how to find my friends. I meandered through the halls, past several menacing stone statues that decided I was trespassing. After battling several of these annoyances, and feeling that I was completely lost, I finally found my “friends.” Well, they had no excuse for leaving me, other than it was “urgent.” Apparently it was the type of urgent that allows you time to pack, but not to write a note. Not only did they have no excuse, they weren’t even really sorry! The only one who actually apologized in so many words was Gideon. Gideon. What is the world coming to?

To make matters even worse, they didn’t have the key anymore. They traded it for another. They traded the key that I supposed to retrieve with men from some other empire that I didn’t even know existed. Apparently the Tomb we were in did not hold magic that would be helpful to us, but the new key opens a Tomb that will be helpful.

I should have arrested them right there, I know, but I couldn’t. Despite what they’ve done, I still believe that they have the Empire’s best interests at heart, and they are my friends. We’re on our way back to Bayview now, and I know that we can explain it all to Uncle.

Somehow it’ll all work out.