~The journal isn't exactly new, but entries start only recently amid cramped shopping lists~
~The first entry is chaotic, as though the hand that wrote it was shaking, or perhaps the book was being shaken as the quill moved~
Today started off on good footing. Ithad rained, so the temperature was comfortable and the smells of overheated bodies was hidden by those of wet dirt until the sun's heat returned. Sunsilk Tapestries had a large order for shirts from the miners which I was expected to help fill, and one of the other tailors said that the shirts I made were perfect. Redolant Rose was too busy to say, but it only mattered if the seams held strong for at least a few months. I felt so good about the work done that I went for a walk to the Coffer and Coffin with a couple of other travelers. By that, I mean I followed several paces behind until they left the road to fight some bugs that were starting to swarm.
Regretfully, the Coffer was not asenjoyable as I'd hoped. One pair had their hands all over one another in a way that was like one of the books mother had that only she was allowed to read. If it wasn't for the porridge, I would have left and found a less embarassing place to eat. Edrick walked in and paid for a different kind of soup, but even he was disturbed by the display behind him.
We left to walk back to the city, butstopped at a bridge to look at the orobon below. He was quick to kill one with nothing but his fists, then carried it all the way to the Quicksand for it to be cooked. The meal was cheaper than usual since the meat was provided by us and would be enough to feed more people than just us, unless there was much less meat on the creatures than I guessed. It was good; better than what I'd eaten as a child. Maybe it was the sauce or something rubbed onto the meat before it was cooked.
We talked a while about the future andI'm certain he was trying to convince me to take up adventuring alongside him. Two adventurers together would stand a better chance against aggressive wildlife than one, but that means double the supplies and putting both of us at risk if something goes wrong. That's especially true with magic and how much concentration it takes to affect only those things I want to be affected.
Before I knew it, we were at a stalllined with weapons and Edrick was looking at a display full of swords. They all looked so similar hat I couldn't have hoped to give advice, but he knew what he wanted that he could afford. I didn't understand why there were no places for a person to make their own swords until Edrick pointed out that those who needed swords the most likely had private smiths or had them imported. Anybody who wanted weaponry would have to join the adventurer's guild or fall at the boots of the Syndicate to join the ranks of their guards, unless they had some means to travel elsewhere to learn how to smith for themselves.
At some point we were joined by someonewho seemed to remember me, though his face escaped me until he started motioning with his hands. I had seen him before some time ago in Ul'dah, but didn't know what to do with somebody who couldn't talk. We managed, this time, and I learned a few things about him. He took a vow of silence since he somehow nearly killed his brother somewhere in the Twelveswood.
We all had things to do, which is forthe best. By that point, I'd managed to get stuck in a corner and was feeling faint and needed some time alone to feel better.
I calmed by weaving until I could fallasleep for a couple of hours, waking in time to hear a voice on a linkpearl from the captain for anybody to gather who was in the area of Ul'dah. The captain was there and two others, one possibly being an old friend of his. The captain did something and everything went dark and strange, then my eyes opened and I was somewhere clearly not in Thanalan. Even with the dizziness, we would march off to the destination somewhere in the woods, but the trip there was uneventful. Then we reached what looked like a tomb and I wanted to go right back home as soon as I saw the corpses walking around. It was worse the deeper we went.
The captain led the charge with the twomen close behind, leaving me ample space to bounce fire from the ceiling or weighing feet and wings with ice. This was the greatest test of what I'd read and practiced with the thaumaturges as well as a few things from conjurers who thought they could make it big in Ul'dah. Tunnels and rooms were full of dried bodies and bugs that would normally be eating them, and none of it felt natural at all. Maybe it was that big ball of light and darkness in the middle of the biggest chamber we were heading towards. A few times they even fought off demonic looking creatures and prodded the bodies until it dissolved into shadows. More bugs, more corpses, and my skin prickled more and more the closer we got to the bottom of the main chamber.
The last two orbs hovering over thealtars were disabled, bringing the large one crashing down and bursting to expose a creature I'd never heard of before. Th captain handed the two guys something and called me forward to join the charge. I followed closely in case the floating platforms fell away behind the first person to cross them, but stayed well away from the monster while the others slashed, stabbed, and pummeled the thing's thick skin.Things crawled over the rim of the platform, forcing everybody to focus on those while the fish-headed thing recovered and readied for stronger, more desperate attacks.
It was a long fight, and the guys tookthe full force of the attack, but the monster collapsed, twitched, gurgled, and finally lay still. It was about time too because the stress had been too much since the moment I stepped into the tomb. Congratulations were shared and concern was shown at my well beingeven though I'd managed to avoid being hurt. My fear must have been showing, but nobody seemed very keen on staying any longer than we already had.
Now that I'm back home and donewriting, I'll be staying in my room until something vital demands my attention.
~There's no dates to mark when the entries are made, so no way to tell how much time passed, but this time the writing is much neater~
With the captain's company based inLimsa Lominsa, I have decided to move to that city and offer aid to Sunsilk Tapestries as another pair of eyes on fashion demands in this city. That would happen after getting settled at the inn or some other relatively safe building.
The city has two levels and it happenedmany times that I found myself in a place I'd been before, but not where I wished to be. A ferry took me to one of the Lomsan provinces, I cannot remember what it was called, and I strolled along the beach which was blessedly empty until I found a sandbar. People were there, including a familiar face who looked a moment away from stripping what was left of his clothes before another Miqo'te woman. How crude. He must be from one of the tribes, but even those have some sense of dignity when it comes to those things, right? Is this truly what it means to be a Miqo'te? It seems as though every one outside of my family lives in some imaginary past when breeding was essential for survival and those who didn't breed took their needs out on anything else.
Or am I the strange one for beingrepulsed at the thought of anothers hands or lips on my body whileothers are watching? More and more, I wonder whether or not I belong.
~The first entry is chaotic, as though the hand that wrote it was shaking, or perhaps the book was being shaken as the quill moved~
Today started off on good footing. Ithad rained, so the temperature was comfortable and the smells of overheated bodies was hidden by those of wet dirt until the sun's heat returned. Sunsilk Tapestries had a large order for shirts from the miners which I was expected to help fill, and one of the other tailors said that the shirts I made were perfect. Redolant Rose was too busy to say, but it only mattered if the seams held strong for at least a few months. I felt so good about the work done that I went for a walk to the Coffer and Coffin with a couple of other travelers. By that, I mean I followed several paces behind until they left the road to fight some bugs that were starting to swarm.
Regretfully, the Coffer was not asenjoyable as I'd hoped. One pair had their hands all over one another in a way that was like one of the books mother had that only she was allowed to read. If it wasn't for the porridge, I would have left and found a less embarassing place to eat. Edrick walked in and paid for a different kind of soup, but even he was disturbed by the display behind him.
We left to walk back to the city, butstopped at a bridge to look at the orobon below. He was quick to kill one with nothing but his fists, then carried it all the way to the Quicksand for it to be cooked. The meal was cheaper than usual since the meat was provided by us and would be enough to feed more people than just us, unless there was much less meat on the creatures than I guessed. It was good; better than what I'd eaten as a child. Maybe it was the sauce or something rubbed onto the meat before it was cooked.
We talked a while about the future andI'm certain he was trying to convince me to take up adventuring alongside him. Two adventurers together would stand a better chance against aggressive wildlife than one, but that means double the supplies and putting both of us at risk if something goes wrong. That's especially true with magic and how much concentration it takes to affect only those things I want to be affected.
Before I knew it, we were at a stalllined with weapons and Edrick was looking at a display full of swords. They all looked so similar hat I couldn't have hoped to give advice, but he knew what he wanted that he could afford. I didn't understand why there were no places for a person to make their own swords until Edrick pointed out that those who needed swords the most likely had private smiths or had them imported. Anybody who wanted weaponry would have to join the adventurer's guild or fall at the boots of the Syndicate to join the ranks of their guards, unless they had some means to travel elsewhere to learn how to smith for themselves.
At some point we were joined by someonewho seemed to remember me, though his face escaped me until he started motioning with his hands. I had seen him before some time ago in Ul'dah, but didn't know what to do with somebody who couldn't talk. We managed, this time, and I learned a few things about him. He took a vow of silence since he somehow nearly killed his brother somewhere in the Twelveswood.
We all had things to do, which is forthe best. By that point, I'd managed to get stuck in a corner and was feeling faint and needed some time alone to feel better.
I calmed by weaving until I could fallasleep for a couple of hours, waking in time to hear a voice on a linkpearl from the captain for anybody to gather who was in the area of Ul'dah. The captain was there and two others, one possibly being an old friend of his. The captain did something and everything went dark and strange, then my eyes opened and I was somewhere clearly not in Thanalan. Even with the dizziness, we would march off to the destination somewhere in the woods, but the trip there was uneventful. Then we reached what looked like a tomb and I wanted to go right back home as soon as I saw the corpses walking around. It was worse the deeper we went.
The captain led the charge with the twomen close behind, leaving me ample space to bounce fire from the ceiling or weighing feet and wings with ice. This was the greatest test of what I'd read and practiced with the thaumaturges as well as a few things from conjurers who thought they could make it big in Ul'dah. Tunnels and rooms were full of dried bodies and bugs that would normally be eating them, and none of it felt natural at all. Maybe it was that big ball of light and darkness in the middle of the biggest chamber we were heading towards. A few times they even fought off demonic looking creatures and prodded the bodies until it dissolved into shadows. More bugs, more corpses, and my skin prickled more and more the closer we got to the bottom of the main chamber.
The last two orbs hovering over thealtars were disabled, bringing the large one crashing down and bursting to expose a creature I'd never heard of before. Th captain handed the two guys something and called me forward to join the charge. I followed closely in case the floating platforms fell away behind the first person to cross them, but stayed well away from the monster while the others slashed, stabbed, and pummeled the thing's thick skin.Things crawled over the rim of the platform, forcing everybody to focus on those while the fish-headed thing recovered and readied for stronger, more desperate attacks.
It was a long fight, and the guys tookthe full force of the attack, but the monster collapsed, twitched, gurgled, and finally lay still. It was about time too because the stress had been too much since the moment I stepped into the tomb. Congratulations were shared and concern was shown at my well beingeven though I'd managed to avoid being hurt. My fear must have been showing, but nobody seemed very keen on staying any longer than we already had.
Now that I'm back home and donewriting, I'll be staying in my room until something vital demands my attention.
~There's no dates to mark when the entries are made, so no way to tell how much time passed, but this time the writing is much neater~
With the captain's company based inLimsa Lominsa, I have decided to move to that city and offer aid to Sunsilk Tapestries as another pair of eyes on fashion demands in this city. That would happen after getting settled at the inn or some other relatively safe building.
The city has two levels and it happenedmany times that I found myself in a place I'd been before, but not where I wished to be. A ferry took me to one of the Lomsan provinces, I cannot remember what it was called, and I strolled along the beach which was blessedly empty until I found a sandbar. People were there, including a familiar face who looked a moment away from stripping what was left of his clothes before another Miqo'te woman. How crude. He must be from one of the tribes, but even those have some sense of dignity when it comes to those things, right? Is this truly what it means to be a Miqo'te? It seems as though every one outside of my family lives in some imaginary past when breeding was essential for survival and those who didn't breed took their needs out on anything else.
Or am I the strange one for beingrepulsed at the thought of anothers hands or lips on my body whileothers are watching? More and more, I wonder whether or not I belong.