Misha's Journal #8
Misha’s Journal #8
1st day of The Drawing Down
The calm before the storm, I never liked the calm. The stillness, the anticipation of chaos, but it is inevitable, and cannot be stopped. The calm consumes us, lulls us into a false sense of safety, before it all comes crashing down, right around us. This morning we leave for the citadel to seek out the Zhentarim and storm their gates and return Aliya to those that love her. This will be our first true test; this will be our finest hour, I have faith that Corellon will see me through, as well as Selune.
Today started off as pleasant as any other day, Vallia has returned to health and good spirits, for which I am very happy. I kept my distance during her rest, best to let Kani tend to her in peace. For the truth is that I knew precious little to do to help my Vallia, I kept to myself for the most part. My companions have become friends, true friends that I genuinely care for, strangely enough.
Gruush is a compassionate soul with a genuine respect for life that I may never understand. The death of his master has only increased his resolve; I have no doubt in his loyalty. Gruush is more human then most humans I have known, including myself. Nym, I cannot say much about him, he is a stalwart supporter of Vallia, and I sense we shall come into conflict, but he has proven useful and somewhat trusting. He makes me question my abilities as a leader; I know that much, and I am not sure if that is a good thing. Karanaj is, well, Karanaj. He does not waver, and he stands true to his beliefs, whatever they are. If Vallia trusts him, then I see nothing wrong with him. I look back at my earlier journals and I see that I tend to shift opinions about him; he is very strange to me. And this does not take into account his draconic ancestry. I still miss Kay, and I guess I always will. I try not to think about her, but I miss her dearly. She was fun to have around; I will mourn for her for quite some time.
As I was saying, this morning was pleasant, as were most mornings in the many days we have stayed in the village of Ashabenford. Nym, Karanaj, and myself competed against each other in an impromptu archery tourney, which I won quite easily. I even took an apple at 50 paces with a clean shot; sometimes I even amaze myself. Vallia came outside to join us and spoke about a beetle race in the village of Ghiaranthor; she was very excited to go. Personally I think we could have made better use of the time scouting and testing the defenses of the citadel, but one must enjoy the time while the calm persists. She spoke about the custom of the races at length and I decided to take my leave and rest and possibly do my own scouting, but Vallia wished for me to go as well. I relented. A pleasant day enjoying the customs of the local peasantry would do us some good; although despite the occasion, I dressed for battle. We are simply too close to the Zhentarim to be caught off guard; as I told Karanaj, we are at war.
The ride to Ghiaranthor was short, only a scant thirty minutes ride or so. The village itself was quaint, though a swath of land had been cleared for the track that the Ki’o, the giant beetles they used for the races, would use for the coming races. The small village was brimming with activity; the people were out in force in the streets, the anticipation of the races quite evident. It was all I could do to keep from yawning, I long so for some action, as we arrived and left our horses at the stable. I decided to get a look around the village, maybe I could stir up some trouble, or maybe I just needed to be alone. I am not sure which, but it was interesting, the menagerie of folks in the village was astounding, a variety of tongues and hues of people in the small village.
Despite the bustle of activity I still had the lingering sense of boredom, I am not long for these events of culture and pomp, though Vallia was enjoying herself immensely, or at least she was when I left her with the rest of the party. I find it humorous that royalty would find such a spectacle fascinating, but that is Vallia, the little things, it seems, amuse her. I had an easy time of making my way through the crowd, the folks tend to give armed elves a good breadth of room and I admired that. I was making my way towards the group when I spotted men watching the party, four armed thugs and a fat greasy pig of a man. I approached them; at last I found something halfway interesting.
The portly crook made it quite evident that he was the leader of this small band of skullduggery. He had a look I had seen one too many times in Amn, the smug grin of a man grown fat on the misfortune of others. He reminded me of myself, in my youth, and I hated him for it, right off. I had sneered like that one too many times, again I must wonder what Corellon or Selune have planned for me, for surely there are worthier men than myself for a second chance at life. The man, who I came to know him as Vajj, and myself chatted about Vallia and company. He had been watching us since we had arrived in the village, which alarmed me; maybe this jovial greasy crook was an agent of the Zhentarim. Thankfully he was not, but he would be a nuisance nonetheless. We had our words and parted ways, I was glad to be rid of him. He reminded me too much of what I could have become, if it had not been for Vandal or Ellyn. I made sure to alert Karanaj of the men watching us, just for my own peace of mind. Karanaj may be a strange one but his loyalty to Vallia is unwavering, meaning I can trust him to do what is best for Vallia in my absence.
Before I could return to the group, I encountered a fellow, well rather he rudely grabbed me by the arm and called me “friend”. I almost had to teach him a lesson in Amnish manners. He introduced himself as Rhet Flannson, he and his brother ran bets on the races. I could already see where this was going, but I played along for the sake of playing the role of the merc to the hilt. It is funny, I rarely think of myself as a merc much, though the old habits are hard to break. He hired us to protect his winnings, and it seemed like a simple job. Plus forty gold for each of us was a nice sum for an afternoon's work, with little actual exertion. After we exchanged pleasantries, I returned to the party. I snuck up on Vallia and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek; she seemed pleased enough to see me until I told the party about my little deal with Rhet. Vallia was incensed and Gruush looked to be less then pleased. Nym simply followed Vallia’s mood, he is a follower, that is plain and sure. It seemed both Nym and Karanaj had found attractive young women, both humans, to link arms. I mentioned Aliya offhandedly to Karanaj, much to his consternation. Have I mentioned I so enjoy ruffling the feathers of others? Well I do, it is one of my skills. Vallia in her infinite wisdom stomped over to Rhet while I had a few words with Nym, at his request. Nym simply wanted to know more about the men that were watching us, though I had precious little answers to give. I excused myself from his presence and joined Vallia and Gruush, who had made their way over to Rhet and were making acquaintances with him.
Vallia was less then pleased with the business venture but she settled in nicely as the races started with a calamitous thunder and a torrent of dust. I must admit the giant beetles were fast, very much so. The races were not that bad and the deal seemed easy enough, too easy, but I am not one to complain. The first two races went by quickly enough, though it became quite clear that Vajj seemed to have a gift for choosing the right beetle to win each race, to make his winnings larger and larger. Well, let it be known that Burning Rose does not stand for such, unless he too is getting a cut of the action. As I said before, old habits are hard to break. I decided to bet on the same beetles that Vajj betted on, and I must say I made quite a killing at the races. I turned a mere investment of 25 gold into a 1000 gold pieces, which I intend to donate to Corellon once I get the chance.
Nym decided to accost me once more in elven with the plainly obvious; he mentioned that Vajj fixed the races. Well of course the bovine of a crook fixed the races, I already knew that at the time but decided to let it pass. I was making money, and I already planned on making sure Vajj saw the error of his ways, but I see nothing wrong with profiting from this unfortunate turn of events. Nym took affront at this mercenary attitude; he is much too idealistic for his own good and made it quite clear that he did not appreciate my ways, or me. I quipped that I had led the group fine so far, to which he replied that Vallia seemed to be in charge. That stung, I never questioned my rather dubious ability to lead up unto this point, not that I wanted the role. But I had begun to settle into the position, rather nicely, I must say. I had little to say except that I wouldn’t justify myself to him, and I will not justify myself to anyone.
By the sixth race things had settled nicely, Vajj had grown rich, as well as myself, and much of the folk seemed to be less than pleased that he had won his bet for every race. Then chaos began, one of the racers from the sixth match fell ill, and I was fearful that I would lose my winnings. I have to admit greed was getting the better of me, forgive me Corellon, a flaw I shall seek to overcome. The racer was replaced and the race continued, and thankfully I still won my winnings. As the race drew to a close, Vallia decided to have a word with Vajj, not one of her brighter moments, but I indulged her nonetheless. Besides, there was no stopping her. She confronted Vajj, who was much more chummy with Vallia then he had been within myself, and one can only fathom why. Did I mention that I really hate that fat little man, he touched Vallia as well; that greasy fat oaf touched my woman! And yes, he did pay, though not as much as I would like.
The seventh and final race was about to begin as Vajj approached the betting table with Vallia at his side. I was seething on the inside, as Vajj demanded his winnings; Rhet, of course, refused. Now things were getting interesting, I could see Gruush moving his way through the crowd as the tensions rose, and then the four thugs advanced on the table. Fools, they were barely worth the swords they carried, clumsy street burglars; the lot of them. The battle was quick, I took out a foe easy enough even as he taunted me until I slashed him midway through his chortling, cutting his guts as he died. The rest fell easy enough, and Vajj had disappeared into the crowds, as the seventh race was well under way. I spotted him watching the race, becoming incensed when a local boy, obviously not the racer he wanted to win, began to take the lead. He leapt onto the track and I had to chase him down. This, of course, led to more chaos as the giant beetles, and their riders, scattered from the track into the crowds, going berserk. I caught Vajj easy enough; well, actually, several villagers caught him but that is neither here nor there, as my companions calmed the beasts and the crowds as best they could.
I sauntered up to Vajj with my blade in hand and gently, well, not too gently, slapped him across the face with the flat of my blade. Vallia and the rest of the party followed as I set to interrogating the two-bit crime lord. Vallia, of course, had to intervene, and in hindsight I am glad she did. I do not wish to have a repeat of the incident that transpired with Anteashara. I sheathed my keen blade, but before I parted, I punched him in the gut, and that was rather satisfying. I do love being uncouth at times. Nym followed me as I left; he was not pleased with Vajj either. I do not recall what he spoke about, for I was still enshrouded in my anger. Vajj sickened me, he was a reminder of the past life, my own sins and crimes, how pathetically human I was. It makes me sick, even thinking about it now, I can feel the dark void of humanity that I was rise inside me. That Misha is thankfully dead, and he shall never return.
The villagers sentenced Vajj to exile, though I think they went much to easy on him. Corellon mark my words, that man is a sore that should be burned from the face of this world. Along with his ilk, but there time shall come, justice will be done.
We returned to Ashabenford, with the two young ladies in tow; I still had not caught their names. Vallia insisted they come along. I do not see the point, but she was, as usual, less then cooperative, so I let it pass. We arrived in the village and the girls, along with Vallia, disappeared inside the house while the rest of us waited and chatted outside. The ladies came out looking stunning, Vallia especially, though the other two were rather attractive as well. They would definitely turn heads this eve. I entered the house to change, more so for appearances then actual willingness. There was a time when I would have tarried and just relaxed and enjoyed myself. But not during this calm, though that is a misnomer. There is no calm for me, only battle, conflict, and pain. The only bright light is my Vallia, my one single comfort; she is everything to me. I went out into the night and spotted Vallia rather quickly. She was talking with several men, Korbol among them; she was enchanting, I will give her that. I was content to simply watch her until she gave a frightful look and started looking around with a wary glance. I made my presence known, which seemed to take her mind off of her current thoughts. She kissed me, and instantly I fell in love with her all over again. I am a sucker for a pretty face. But the moment was fleeting; Karanaj sent me a mental message that someone was looking for Vallia just as Vallia told me that she heard men talking about Karanaj. Never any rest for the wicked, I must say. We retreated to the house and I gathered my armor and weapons just as Zhentarim assassins forced their way into the house.
Gruush and myself faced down a trio of warriors; the battle would have been easy, but the Zhentarim had a skilled cleric who used his foul divine magic to devastating effect against Gruush and myself. Vallia and Karanaj held their own quite well until the cleric sent Karanaj running in fear. Nym was nowhere to be found, and I must say that unreliability is never a positive quality. I healed Gruush, channeling the divine power of Corellon and then fired arrows at the evil cleric, but I did not fell him. Then the blasted cleric used his last ounce of strength to cast a spell of fear upon me and I succumbed, dashing through the door into the streets, my mind racing in fear. By the time I returned the battle had ended, Gruush had fallen, but Vallia had used her magic to bring him back from the brink of death.
I immediately began to gather my things to leave the house; it was not safe. And I still believe thus, but Vallia insisted against it. I was angry, as she challenged my authority. Maybe Nym was right, and maybe she was the true power here. I was angry, I looked to the others but they would not follow, Vallia turned and went to her room as I seethed with anger. I stormed out and left on horse, though I did not get far. Not far at all. Vallia asked me to leave the ring and I said no, I do as I please. I shall not be ordered by the likes of her, but I relented and returned. Karanaj tried to stop me but I would not be denied, to at least speak with Vallia.
She was surprised to see me return. I closed the door behind me and asked her if she wanted the ring back, but she said that the matter had passed. I was angry and saw that she had taken her ring off, and I asked where it went to, but she did not answer. We argued then, a bitter argument; things had changed and Vallia was not happy with who I had become. I was not happy to be a leader, but she said that I am a leader, I believe her, though I do not see it. She asked where the old Misha went; I had not the heart to tell her he died, that he was gone. I am still Misha, but not that man; I am something else, and only Corellon knows what will be wrought when I fully realize what it is I was meant to do. I know that my bond is to protect Vallia, and to be willing to sacrifice myself for her if the need arises. I am the Lover in the prophecy, but nowhere did I see that I live to see this through to the end. It may just be that my contribution to this world will be for me to serve one who may save us all, and in doing so I am prepared to sacrifice it all for her.
But Corellon, and Selune, do not hate me thus, I am afraid. I am but one man, a man with a past as black as any Zhentarim agent, and yet you spared me… I cannot fathom why, in time, maybe I shall know, or maybe it is simply my place to serve. You have made me your pawn, and I shall play my role. Sacrifice the pawn to save the queen; I am scared, but prepared if it comes to that. You know, I think I just became a fatalist…
-Misha “Burning Rose” Koldun
For a picture of the old Misha click here and just click on the picture...
*This was a fun journal to write hope you all enjoy... working an elven version of Misha as we speak... picture wise anyways....
