Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nydia" data-source="post: 1490019" data-attributes="member: 18593">4th of Ches, 1376 D.R.We arrived back in Phlan this morning and my exhaustion is nearly overwhelming. Immediately upon setting foot into the city, Mithras "insisted" that we make our way to Lando’s Bow Shop to collect our fee. From there we went to the mercenary guild, where we received the other half of our fee, a free week of training! They must really have owed Lando a favor. I’ve decided to take them up on their offer. The Talaxian Duelist training sounds splendid! Graceful…elegant…stylish… I can’t wait to try it! First though, I need to rest. Today was mostly walking hither and yon, and my feet want to fall off.I can’t believe that I hadn’t noticed how near it is to the 19th…. It was winter when I left home, so I'm not sure why I hadn't noticed before. It's not as if the date should have crept up on me. It happens the same time every year. How odd this feels though. Maybe I hadn't noticed because I've been trying not to think about it. The 19th of Ches is my birthday….but how ever should I celebrate it? Should I celebrate it? I shouldn’t think of such things now…my mind is too weary. Tomorrow..5th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Today was a truly good day! I felt like playing my harp, and the taproom of the Paladin's Mount Inn looked like such an inviting place. When I tried, however, Jaroff informed me that the Inn didn't host musical acts. I don't know why. It would liven the place up considerably. He did direct me to a tavern called the Jaded Jester though, which he claimed hosts a sort of amatuer night for bards some evenings.Oh! Nym is the actual name of “The Snake!”. I’m glad to know his real name. Nym will be much easier to write than “The Snake.”The Jester opened in the evening, but it turned out that that same evening was one of their amateur nights! I was delighted!  I took that much needed rest, and then both Nym and myself went to the tavern when it opened. I still have no idea what to do regarding the 19th, but I feel much more optimistic after my evening at the Jaded Jester. My performance wasn’t the best, admittedly, but it felt wonderful to play for an actual audience again. Well, actually I got to play when I wasn’t dodging rotten fruit... It would seem that the patrons of the Jester show up on amateur night just so they can hurl old vegetables. Still, it felt nice…it had been so long! I have a lovely bruise on my eye now, and it looks like I got socked during a alley brawl! Melons really hurt.Tomorrow we begin our lessons at the mercenary guild…Talaxian Duelist! Should be fun! Speaking of which, I’d better retire for the evening…I need to be there nice and early. First though, I should find something cold to put over my eye.Alley cats yawn wide.Refuse, in wind it rustles.A flower blooms full.6th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Ohhhhh....I’m so tired... my arms and legs ache so much... The training today... it was worse than the marching to the Quivering Forest. I never believed that duelist training would be this painful… I hurt so much…. I hope tomorrow will be better. I don’t think it can get much worse than this...My head hurts... need to sleep... Will write more tomorrow...How dare that man tell me to clean the floor with my tongue!7th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Today was not quite so bad as yesterday...but it still hurts. It seems that the first day serves to “weed out the weak” so to speak. Today’s lesson focused primarily on concentration, something I could always use more of. Wow does it ever remind me of the lessons I had to endure back at home! I’m really beginning to enjoy the training! Wielding a rapier is so dashing! I feel like a swashbuckler or a pirate!Arrghhhh! Avast ye mateys! Make wit yer plunder or I’ll keelhaul yer ship and make ye all walk de plank!It sounds so…so…adventurous..so romantic and wonderful! Like all the stories I used to read before I came here. Caftan the Blackguard and his Dread Ship Dragonflame! I miss those novels…Shadows dance through night;The silver ray pierces through,A triumph is had.12th of Ches, 1376 D.R.The lessons are wearing on me more than I ever anticipated they would... I’ve been too tired to write these past few days. My hands cramp so much from gripping the rapier. My head and eyes hurt from the focus training. I can’t believe how out of practice I’ve become… All this time in Phlan has softened me up.I pray that I’ll get my gifts back soon. Curse Mystra for robbing me of them! I only hope nobody tries to follow me here. Despite the fact that I can’t cast anymore, I have a feeling that I’ve gotten off lucky. I don’t know what I would do if any of the rest attempted to follow me and met a worse fate. That’s my worst fear… That my actions could cause that again…16th of Ches, 1376 D.R.I had been so wrapped up in the Talaxian Duelist training that I hadn’t realized how close it has grown to the 19th! I can’t believe it never dawned on me! How could I forget my own birthday!? This all just feels so terribly odd…how do I celebrate it this time? Do I?I know I asked this once already..but I still don’t know. Technically, I suppose I shouldn’t…but it would be stranger yet not to. How can I avoid celebrating my own brithday? It’s all so confusing…On the bright side, tomorrow is the last day of the training. It’s been a great deal of fun... if not horribly exhausting, but I have no desire to continue with it immediately after this lesson is over. I may pick it up again someday, but right now I have not the time. In fact, I feel that I am hitting a dead-end here in Phlan. I cannot achieve my ends here. I lack the experience.The others seem content to stay though. Even the centaur is adapting to the city. I have grown so accustomed to Nym, Mattathias, Mithras, and the centaur that I would really hate to leave them. I consider them my friends. I just wish that I didn’t have to lie to them... That must be the price for my errors. It truly is a slippery slope....I really think I understand her better now, going through all of this. I only wish that I had listened to good advice when it was given. Why do I have to be so damn stubborn?! Maybe *word scribbled out* was right, and I really have no idea how the world really works. Or maybe I’m just too selfish to care… Either way, I’m a fool.17th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Today was the final day of our free week of Talaxian Duelist training.In a way, I’m happy that it's over. The training was hard on my body, but I know I needed the conditioning. Though it also bolstered my concentrative prowess, it gave me headaches and eye-strain. I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining though. Complaining never got anybody anywhere. Action is the key, as father would say.I remember his lectures: whole worlds are created and destroyed by a single man’s oblivious action. Now I almost miss getting in trouble... I miss those lectures so damn much, but pining for the past never got anyone anywhere either. He'd said that too...I am sad that the training has ended too. In its most superficial form, it kept my mind off everything else. Beyond that, it renewed my confidence, honed my skills and resolve, and it was fun. I’ve found very little avenue for fun in Phlan... not even the Jaded Jester raises my spirits anymore. I imagine that if I was the sort of girl who enjoyed a few pints of ale and the company of brawny gentlemen, I would have a much better time in this city.Seeing all of the young men in armor....it reminds me so much of Samostil. I never realized before I came here just how much I took him for granted. I wish he was here now so I could apologize to him. I could tell him that I'm not just a flighty little spoiled brat. At least, not anymore… Of course, I may never see him, or Aven, or even that bastard Leddit ever again. They will all grow older, get married, and have happy lives, and forget all about me. I can’t say that it would be any less than I deserve…but still it hurts. What kind of person was I to kiss Samostil just so spite Leddit? Samostil didn’t deserve that, even if he did call me spoiled and heartless afterwards. He deserved better than to have me leading him about by the nose...My last candle is burning low so I must stop. I just wish it wasn’t on such a depressing note.18th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Talaxian Duelist training is over and I ought to be resting, but I just can’t bring myself to do so. Tomorrow is the 19th and I’ve come no closer to my goal than I was the very first day I walked into Phlan!I feel like crying… Am I never to go home again? I know that that really isn’t the cause of my anguish..I promised her that I would right what I did, and I haven’t. That’s the rub. Even though I know I cannot possibly do it at this moment, it weighs no less heavily upon my heart.I need to talk to someone, but I can’t. I can’t tell anyone the truth. Nobody would believe me, or even worse they would! I’ve considered talking to Mattathias, but the burns on his legs frighten me.I went to The Waiting instead, to seek atonement for her, for what I’ve done. I was told to return tomorrow morning. My heart aches, but there is nothing I can do except wait for tomorrow.19th of Ches, 1376 D.R.I received the details of my atonement today. Holondos Stimpiir, the head priest at The Waiting, said that in order to find what I was looking for, I should volunteer my time and energy helping the unfortunate. He said that I have known misfortunate, hunger, and poverty little in my life ...and he’s right. I should toil to make things better for no less than one week.The work will be difficult, but I’m ready… I begin tomorrow. I haven’t seen the others today and that’s intentional. This is none of their business. Besides, it would just be too hard to explain. I will accept my punishment silently and stoically. As it is, I begin at the crack of dawn tomorrow, so I need to get some rest. Hopefully, there will be more to tell in my next entry.Happy Birthday to me...20th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Today’s work was agony. We began before sunrise, meeting at a rather rundown building on the poorer side of New Phlan. Our job (myself, a few more volunteers sent by The Waiting, and a couple of trained carpenters) was to help renovate the structure so that it could be used as low priced homes for the city’s indigent.We hauled lumber and nails around the site, helped raise scaffolding, drove stakes and nails and rivets, and even painted a little. It wasn’t so hard until the sun came up. It’s amazing how even a small amount of sun can make your body so exhausted and your sweat flow so much. We did break for lunch, and then we worked inside during the hottest weather, but it was still oppressively exhausting. It’s no less than I deserve I know. I’m so tired...I’d hate to cut this entry so short today, but I begin again tomorrow at the same time as this morning. I need to sleep.22nd of Ches, 1376 D.R.I’m so tired… We laid the stone floor on the bottom floor today. My hands are sore and scratched, my nails are cracked and broken. I’m filthy.I think I’ll take a long hot soak after I’m finished writing for the evening. I feel good on the inside though. I feel that I am doing some real good for the people of Phlan. My heart feels at peace.I saw the others today, at the Grove. We’ve all taken to eating our supper there some evenings. I still prefer the Paladin’s Mount, as austere as it is…I don’t feel wholly at ease in Mielikki’s Grove.  Still, it is heavenly to dine under the stars and the leafy boughs of the trees.Nym left the Paladin’s Mount and moved into the Grove with the others, leaving me at the inn by myself. It’s more peaceful, but it can be lonely at times. Jaroff, the Paladin owner, isn’t much of a conversationalist.I miss home. Home was never lonely! Someone was always there. Uncle Mirt was always there. I wonder if he’s there now, he was so old when I left. I wonder if he’s dead...I miss that damn pig! I even miss father. The sooner I get back to them, the better. I only hope it doesn’t continue to take so long.25th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Atonement is half over and I already know I’ll miss this when I’m done. The first floor is finally finished and the first few families moved in this morning. It felt good to see how happy and grateful they were. That made all this pain worth it.We begin the second floor tomorrow. Our scaffoldings were erected today. The floor is going to be wood, so hopefully we won’t have to lug too many stones or bricks. Besides going up and down the steps, the work should be easier.Of course, this is my atonement, so I’m not sure I should even be worrying about it being easier... Guess I’ll never be a saint.I saw the others again in the Grove for dinner. Makes me wonder how long I will remain in Phlan, and if I’ll be leaving alone when I do. It would be difficult arranging things so that the others will do what I need to do, but I would greatly appreciate the company.  Even if it does come from grumpy old Katar (that’s the centaur’s name! I finally know it!), surly Mithras, gloomy Mattathias, and hyper-active Nym.30th of Ches, 1376 D.R.Sorry...I haven’t written anything in the past few days, but there simply wasn’t anything new to write about. That, and I was simply too exhausted to make journal entries.Today was my final day of volunteering, well, atonement. In truth, it did little to ease my own guilt over her and what I had done. But, it did help take my mind off it at least... I don’t know if I should feel bad for being grateful I didn’t think of her and all my birthdays gone by.  It eases my heart and I’m grateful for that, but I can’t help but feel a little bit selfish.I saw the others again for dinner. They are planning to throw a party outside the walls tomorrow night. That should be fun, especially after all my hard work.1st of Tarsakh, 1376 D.R.It’s late and I don’t think I’ll be up for too much longer tonight. The party was great fun! Not having to be up at the crack of dawn was splendid! I needed the rest so badly… though I do feel bad for leaving when everyone else is working so hard...Speaking of the slums and the tenement building though... some acquaintances of Mattathias’s met up with him today in town. There were three of them, and two were disguised as a couple being evicted from their home by a cruel landlord.  The other was the landlord himself.  The two being “evicted” begged Mattathias for help as we were going by with our party supplies. We were unable to talk the landlord out of evicting them, so we escorted them to The Waiting so that Mattathias could request housing for them at the tenement that I helped build.Of course, when Mattathias emerged, the three had shed their disguises and revealed themselves to be an aging knight? who identified himself as Huran, a one-armed monk female named Anassa?  Onassa? Arassa? Something like that. The third of them was a tall blonde bard who was actually pretty handsome if I must say. They said they had come to test Mattathias. Apparently, he passed, and they joined us at our party.Like I said, the party was a lot of fun! We drank, some of us only a little, some of us a lot (Katar!). Nym played with the ladder of Elminster that he purchased at the doll shoppe. Most of us played a few hands of Talos.I lost nearly a gold! That blonde bard is good, or very lucky.  He claims it’s the latter, I think it’s the former.After losing out at Talos, we played a game that Katar showed us.It involves wrapping small items in cloth, tossing the bundles into the branches of a tree of medium height, and then shooting them down with your bow. I’ve seen it played before..in *two words scribbled out*.Yish! That’s the blonde bard’s name. He asked me for a lock of my hair to toss into the tree. I was flattered, but I just had to refuse. I don't know Yish well enough to be offering parts of my body to him, even if it is just a lock of hair.I remember my relationship with Aven, and I remember the young hopefuls at New Olamn...charming as can be, but they practically leave scorch marks when they leave! Oh well...Still he is very handsome. I'll bet he has a woman waiting for him in every city on the Moonsea though. I guess I’ll never have much luck in the romance department. I shouldn’t be looking anyway, I know that. Still, it does invigorate the heart… Another time, Nydia, another time... when you're home with your family.Right now, Nym is asleep. I believe Mithras is asleep. Katar is passed out drunk. Mattathias is over talking with Anassa? Huran is silently standing watch (I don’t think he said four words the entire evening!), and the handsome Yish is over to the side playing a piece that I've never heard on his lute. The campfire is dying down and I’ll soon not have enough light to see by. Sweet dreams…2nd of Tarsakh, 1376 D.R.Nothing of any real importance happened today, but I did get a little shopping in. I took Katar with me this time. Talking with him is always fascinating. It angers me sometimes just how naïve he really is. It would be so easy for someone to take advantage of him..but despite his complete lack of street-smarts, he isn’t stupid.I taught him about money today..or at least, I tried to teach him about money. Poor Katar, he spends so much of what little he has far too often. Maybe if he knows its value he’ll be willing to save a little more.Right about now, he and Nym are probably trying to get into the Temple of Sune here. The Temple is having some kind of party tonight, and I know both Nym and Katar were interested in seeing what it was all about. Mattathias declined to go, same as I.I don’t know where Mithras is. He went to look for work earlier today, and we haven’t seen him since. I guess he found something. Oh well, I hope Nym and Katar are having more fun than I am. Goodnight.3rd of Tarsakh, 1376 D.R.Another dull day overall. Well, not for the owners of Half-A-Loaf actually.It was destroyed in the wee hours this morning. I went there this morning to get a buttered apple muffin for breakfast, like I do every morning, and found the place in ruins. Someone robbed the place of all the apple muffins. Odd. They didn't take anything else...just smashed the place up and absconded with the apple muffins. I feel terribly for the owners. The party pooled together some money and offered it to them. Ahhhhh yesss that’s right… I found out what Mithras was doing last night. Turns out he did find a job, like I had thought... wearing a loincloth and looking really pretty! He was hired as a guard at that party at the Temple of Sune last night. I would have paid to see him all dressed up and dolled up!Oh I hope he didn’t scowl too much! Hate is so unattractive! There’s another party at the Temple of Sune later this week. Maybe he’ll get hired again. Hahahahaha!Buttery, crumbly little treatApple muffins nice and sweetSo moist and brimming with heatNow whatever shall I eat?*Below is the low-res image Arravis made of the Phlan jobs board*</blockquote>

Verification