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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aust Meliamne" data-source="post: 958" data-attributes="member: 95">Karanaj’s Journal #4 Today, I don’t feel much like talking about what happened, but I guess that the bad should come along with the good (though, I am still waiting for the good). The morning after our first acting opportunity was a bit slow. I was outside Misha and Vallia’s door, just looking at Jynx in my lap (Jynx is my cat, if I haven’t already mentioned that). I was wondering what I should do with her, since I couldn’t very well just leave her here, and it didn’t seem proper for a man I was pretending to be to have a pet cat. I decided to let the “family” take him as a pet. The rest of the group finally awoke, and Gruush came over to see what had happened. Nothing had, and we both went downstairs for breakfast. After we finished all of our business there, we all headed out to the wagon and horses, and I went over to Kayla to offer her the cat. She accepted, and made a few comments insinuating what she would do to that cat. All I can say is that I hope she does not, for her sake. We were on the road again, and not too far along before we were attacked by some Troglodytes. Two javelins flew from the right, and Vallia jumped into one of them that was heading straight for Misha. She flew off of the wagon, and landed on the ground, lying very still. I knew the Troglodytes must have poisoned it somehow, because she would never have fallen that easily. Gruush and Misha were the first to see the creatures, and they fired on the right. I was quite angry by now, seeing Vallia lying on the ground. I leapt from my horse, and fired on her attackers first. I then realized that there were more coming from the opposite direction and turned my attention there. I came out of the battle with a few scratches, and turned my attention to Vallia, since everyone else seemed to want to. I saw the javelin sticking out, and all I could think of was poison on that thing, making her worse. I took the javelin out, not ripping it at full force, but pulling it enough that it ripped a larger wound in her chest. The javelin was barbed. The sight of that, and the smell of the troglodytes make me wretch, and I promptly lost my lunch. I’m not really sure what happened after that. I think Misha scolded me in his own way, but I wasn’t paying attention. All I could see was what I had just done to Vallia. We tried to make camp right there, but the rains came quickly, and we were forced to move on. We drove through the bone chilling rain, but I did not even notice that I was soaked or freezing. All I could think of was that I had just nearly lost Vallia, who meant a lot to me, now. We found an inn, and Misha took Vallia inside, while Gruush made our presence known. Gruush scared half of the patrons into drawing weapons, but thankfully the innkeeper intervened, and sent them all away so we could concentrate on the matter at hand. I began to try to use this opportunity to show Misha exactly what I saw. He either wouldn’t see it, or just denied it, like the fool he was. I can’t blame him, though. I read in his journal about the Burning Rose, and I do understand why he acts the way he does. The only way I can hope to show him what I see is to play his game; be the tough guy. I did my best to show him what Vallia did for him as a gesture of how she feels. I told him. I don’t know whether I need to convince him that Vallia loved him, or that he needed to be honest about his feelings. I tried to do both, but he was so stubborn. I quickly became agitated, and didn’t even want to speak with him anymore. When that happened, I saw what pain I had caused both Vallia and Misha, and I continued pushing him. I could not allow this to happen right in front of me. They loved each other, and the man was holding them back from experiencing it. I could not allow him to make the same mistake I did. Tal, the innkeeper, sent me to the abbey to get the priest. I was all to happy to make amends for earlier, and at the same time, to get away from that stubbornly foolish Misha. I ran off to find the place. I found the abbey, and heard some sounds of digging inside. I had no time to worry about that, and pounded on the locked door. The priest answered, and I could tell by his speech and demeanor that he had been charmed. I told Misha as much, and he sent Gruush to come help me, if need be. I saw who I thought was that man responsible, all the while, trying to get something out the priest. He tried to shut the door on me, and I pushed the door back, and moved past him. I saw two more cloaked figures, just as the one I had seen from the entrance. I knew that this could be trouble, and asked for some more help. Kay was sent this time, but I still did not feel that that was enough. The three figures attacked all of us, and I told Misha that he should hurry here, to help us free the priest from their control. Surprisingly, and to my delight, Misha actually had to deal with his conscience before leaving Vallia at the inn. He hurried here, and we made short work of the men, and their reinforcements. I was exhausted from the battle, and I could tell that I would not be able to cast magic that night again. I volunteered to go look after Vallia, while the group continued to find who had control over the priest. I headed back and found Tal in Vallia’s room, keeping watch over her. I thanked him for all his help, but still could not convey my feelings well enough to him. He left, to go see his family, and that thought gave me a sort of bittersweet feeling. The serving girl came up later on, and apparently found me quite dashing. Had I not known that I was Aliya’s ma’sheira, I would have been easily taken by her offer, even after meeting Aliya. I told the girl that I was already taken, and she looked very forlorn. I tried as best I could to assure her that it was for the best as she left. She had brought food, but I didn’t feel hungry at all. I simply took Vallia’s hand. It was cold as ice, and I began to gently rub it, to try to bring back some warmth. Kayla came back first, and she had the priest in tow. She brought him upstairs to Vallia, and he promptly began examining her. He asked where she was wounded, and I told her in the chest. He pulled back the covers, and was about to unbutton her bodice when he looked at me. In all my worrying about her I had forgotten completely about modesty! I walked to the doorway, and stood facing out of the room. He gasped when he saw the wound, and I told him that it was my fault for pulling out the barbed javelin. He scolded me, which did nothing to help my attitude, and proceeded to heal her. She did not wake immediately, but was healed at the very least. We offered him some money, but he did not take it. The group was back by then, and we all thanked him for his help. He left, and I was set to wondering about Misha again. I stopped Misha before he entered the room. I wanted to say a million things in that seemingly eternal time, but I could not. He asked me what was wrong, as a master would ask his bodyguard, and I let the question hang in the air as I walked to my room. Vallia spoke to me in my mind as I reached my room. I felt so much guilt at hearing her voice. I asked her if she was alright, and she told me that her chest was sore. That made my guilt even worse, and I tried at first to say why I had ripped that javelin out of her. I then realized that I couldn’t make anything better by excusing it, so I just told her it was my fault, and apologized. She was not angry; I was not very surprised by that, but I was still somewhat relieved. I tried one last time to goad Misha into saying something, but I couldn’t, and I said my “good nights” to Vallia and Misha. I was outside Misha and Vallia’s door the next morning, as I had done so many times in the recent past. Vallia began to ask me what I had said to Misha. I didn’t want her to know, for some reason, and I told her that I didn’t say anything very serious. She was still worried about him, and I tried the only thing that I could think of to convince him. I allowed him to read my own journal as well. I thought that maybe he would see what he was doing, and stop his foolishness. Even as I offered it to him, he told me that he already knew that he would probably hurt Vallia down the road. I told him that even if there was a good chance of hurting her down the road, there is a guarantee of hurting her NOW, if he did not accept his feelings. He began to defend himself by saying that an elf would get over a human very easily. I told him about an elf, and her ma’sheira; how she would never love another for the rest of her life. I told him about how sad I was that Aliya had fallen for me, and that she had to have a great love for me, because she knew that already as well. He read through it for quite some time as we traveled a lengthy portion of our trip. I think that reading my Journal changed him at least a little. As we neared a roadside inn (though we didn’t know about it quite yet), I asked Vallia to answer one question for me. I wanted to see if all my efforts had been in vain (those two had been so stubborn; I didn’t know what I could think of as true). I asked her if she loved that man sitting next to her, and she told me not only what I had thought, but something even more than that. She told me she was to him and Aliya was to me. She would never love another man, as long as she lived. I was taken aback by the news, and I told Vallia, as best I could, about the Burning Rose (I had promised to tell no one, but I could not keep this from her, especially now). I explained in general terms, so as not to betray Misha’s trust in me totally, but I did my best to show how he felt. I soon found out that emotions, if they were strong enough, could be conveyed to everyone wearing a ring. Misha now knew what I had seen so long ago. I hoped that he would not hurt her. We finally came to the inn, and found that it was abandoned. The animals there were malnourished, as if they hadn’t been fed in a few days. We went into the inn, and saw people dead. They had tried to carve crude Holy Symbols, and there was a scent of garlic in the air. We went over to one of the men; he had two bite holes in his neck, and was very withered. This would not be a pleasant night at all.</blockquote>

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