Dear us,
After talking with the Queen, I was able to speak with Mikhaila again. I was wondering if Mikhaila and the other exiled Amazonians and I had a common cause and maybe we could work together to restore their home. However, Mikhaila likes where she is at and won’t intercede unless new information is uncovered. I respect that. I wouldn’t want to bring chaos to her people but I would imagine that she would like to restore the Amazons to what they once were. I know I need to get our sword back but I don’t want to hurt them or the quween, but if the queen is worshipping Khar’shan and wants to interfere with my mission, I don’t have a choice but to attack.
But I do wonder if Mikhaila could help me recover the sword more peacefully, and maybe I can help her restore the Amazons. Mikhaila mentioned that there could be a vote of no confidence which would allow the crown to be removed from the queen and passed down to her daughter. This would be a more peaceful methodology, but we would need to convince the people that this agreement is needed. Also, I don’t know if the daughter would help us. She might continue her mother’s course of actions and force others to worship Khar’shan, too. I will continue to contemplate this issue but I am unsure on how to proceed.
We left the castle and I led our party to our home. To be honest, I wasn’t sure it existed. I haven’t been there since that day… I was also wary if there would be unwanted creatures dwelling there in our absence. I know that the goatlings have passed through our home and took our ring. So who knows what other creatures have passed through?
Luckily, there were no signs of other life forms within our home, but I am quite sad to relay the current conditions. I am so sorry, love. I should have taken better care of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t be here unless we had another choice. Our home is definitely more secure than an inn. I hope you can understand but this is where it all started and it’s hard to be here while trying to focus on the task at hand and not be overwhelmed with grief. But I will keep myself busy and try to clean the place. It is quite dusty. There were also some deep gashes into some of the stone and I don’t know if that was me or if it was someone else… But Thumble seems to like his new home as he was busy running around and getting familiar with his new surroundings.
Flee is very sweet. Once we arrived, she started to help me clean the place with her magical abilities. I do appreciate her. She also found our Coat of the Starfall Hunt. She repaired any damage on it and gave it to me.
Once the dust was removed from the dining hall, we were able to discuss tomorrow’s agenda. We agreed that we would have breakfast and then go to the bathhouse. Afterwards, we would go to the Great Bazaar and make our necessary purchases. Then, we would go to the summit of Mount Azorius for the qualifications for the games. We also agreed to think on what our next objective would be. Besides finding the ship Gjallarhorn, I personally want to uncover corruption within the temple of Khar’shan. I would like to do anything to loosen Khar’shan’s influence on this city and, more importantly, the children.
After making our decisions, I continued to clean. Unfortunately, I didn’t make very much progress. I was only able to clean the dining hall and a room from the west wing. While cleaning, Cuz asked me about the camp where they keep the enslaved minotaurs. He wants to infiltrate and free them. This is an honorable ambition and I agreed to help him, but we need to do some reconnaissance to understand what we are dealing with. The sewer system underneath the city could possibly help, but I don’t know the details on the camp. I need thieves’ tools. Remember when I was able to pick locks? Yeah, that was a while ago. I told Cuz that I would buy some tomorrow while we are shipping and start practicing and see if I can relearn how to use them. He agreed. He also mentioned that he would like to free the minotaurs before the games or else where would be more risk involved… My cousin is absolutely crazy, love. The amount of risk he is willing to take astounds me.
When I was ready to sleep, I couldn’t. Not in our bedroom. Thumble and I took one of the guest rooms. It would hurt too much… It already hurts…
It was an unusual morning. I heard my fellow comrades talking when I woke up and when I came to see what was happening, there was a new creature among us. But I recognized the robes… It was Flee.. She took the oath… She made that pact of service. I had to step away. I escaped to the courtyard which, according to Clio and Briar, smells funny. They do not like my courtyard very much. There are a lot of weeds and work needs to be done here, but I thought they were being rather harsh.
I was trying to distract myself from Clio and Briar’s petty insults to my courtyard when Flee came out. She apologized for keeping the robes secret, but she asked her god if the oath would be a good thing for her and she received confirmation that it would be. To be honest, I didn’t want to talk because, even though I may like to think that she is my own, she isn’t. Flee can make her own decisions and I have no right to tell her what she should and shouldn’t do. I did tell Flee that she knows this god stuff more than me so I would have to trust her. I hugged her and I kind of broke down. I made her promise that she wouldn’t disappear like you did, and Rare. I couldn’t bear losing another one… She promised, but I can’t help but fear for what this oath entails. I am so scared that she is bound to something that will make her life miserable and I could lose her. Flee also admitted that his true name is Leef, and that this is his true form. It makes me happy that he feels comfortable enough to be himself. Leef mentioned that he was able to contact his mother through Clio’s magical abilities. This was very surprising because this means she is alive, though she is captive somewhere. We need to find her. I am sure it’s a relief to learn that she is alive, but it would be hard to learn that she is captured. We need to find her.
Soon after, we went to the bathhouse. Apparently, it’s free for us, the heroes. I know there are some that consider us heroes, but I still don’t think of myself as one. I feel more like a psychosocial patient than a hero, but it’s nice to receive free stuff. I was able to do some lap swimming in the cold pool. It was awesome! Makes me miss swimming near the farm. I loved our races out by the river. You have such a competitive spirit that you would get so upset when I beat you. I miss that. It was nice to get a good workout like in the old days. While swimming, I overheard others talk about the games. Apparently there are some Amazonians coming to compete. This really surprised me and I couldn’t help but stop and shout, “WHAT?!” I was about to ask further questions about this new piece of information, but they ignored me and walked away. I thought that was kind of rude! After our baths, I asked my comrades if they knew about the Amazonians coming to compete and they mentioned that the queen already disclosed this information. I must be losing it because I don’t remember that.
We next went to the Great Bazaar. To help save on time, I gave Briar some money to buy arrows, thieves’ tools, and potions. While Briar, Clio, and Leef took care of these items, I went to get some flowers to help our home look nicer, and to buy some new clothes. I think it’s time for a new look. I am going to have Leef etch a new mark on my left shoulder. I will show it to you once it is done.
When I was done shopping, I saw Cuz, Rendu, and Actaeon talking with a mouse, Digo. Yes, he was a mouse. I think. He says he isn’t from around here, and mentioned that he was an enchanter. He made some cool stuff, but he was dissatisfied. He wanted to be more well-known for his work and serve a greater cause. As a party, we agreed that he could be beneficial in helping Azorius with forging our weapons and armor. In exchange for his service, we would advocate for his magical items. He agreed to these terms and started his preparations to go to the Mithral Forge.
We are now on our way to the summit for the qualifications. I will write more on how that goes. Wish me luck, love.
Your black knight,
Shadow