Kira's Journals

Journal,

No matter what we're doing or how hard we try to stay out of trouble, trouble always seems to find us. We were just sitting in the bar, minding our own business. I decided it was time for another drink, so I made my way up to the bar. Someone bumped into me, some drunk I just assumed, but I checked my pockets just in case. I know how tricky thieves can be. Nothing was missing, but there was something there that was certainly not mine. Thinking I couldn't possibly get in trouble for not taking anything, I took out the item to see what it was. I found it was a silver ring. Just a simple band with a blue stone. After appraising it for only a moment or two I could tell it was not worth more than a few silver. But there were a few carvings in the band; runes of some sort. I was about to return to our table to see what Malorrin thought of the runes when someone yelled at me. I looked up to see a very large ork holding four mugs of what I assumed was alcohol. We'll get to the drinks in a moment though.

He looked at the ring I was appraising and then looked at his own hand. Obviously his slow mind took a moment to put together that the ring I was holding belonged on his hand, but he got there eventually. Upon coming to that realization for himself, he upturned all four mugs to try to drench me. I avoided the rain by a few feet, and was very glad to smell that I was not completely covered in that foul ork drink they call hurlg. I took to the air and threw the ring back at the ork, assuring him that I didn't take his ring. I said I just found it on the floor, figuring I would avoid any nasty questions that way, but I don't think he believed me. Seeing as how his hands were full, the ring just bounced off his forehead onto the floor. Obviously, this was not enough to make him happy. He looked ready to kill me. Thankfully, Rayne was ready for trouble. She had her whip out in the blink of an eye and, in another blink, had the ork's legs bound.

By this point, the ork was growing very angry. He threw one handful of mugs at me, though he missed by quite a bit. I suppose that wasn't his first round of drinks that night. Though the mugs did come close enough to me for the smell of hurlg to make me nauseous. Malorrin, at the cue of mugs crashing against the ceiling, had transformed the floor into a frozen pond before anyone really knew what was going on. By now, however, the ork's friends in the back of the tavern had seen him getting mad at me and were probably eager to start a fight. I saw them get up out of the corner of my eye. I also saw Thrak get up to intercept them, though it turns out he didn't need to get involved after all. The three orks slipped on the ice just as soon as they had left their chairs. The first ork ended up on the floor as well. He threw his remaining two mugs at Rayne. He missed by mile, but throwing the mugs threw him off balance, and he ended up on the floor along with his friends.

Well, seeing as how we resolved the situation without causing too much damage, the barkeep let us stay in the tavern. We paid for the broken mugs and the trouble, of course, but made sure we knew that if we started any more trouble, we wouldn't be in his bar or his inn for much longer. The ork got his ring back and he and his friends left, and I got out of the whole thing without being asked any questions. I remembered then that I wanted to ask Malorrin about the runes on the ring. He was interested, but said that without seeing them, there was nothing he could tell me about them. I thought they might be magical, which would explain why the ork was so upset to lose the ring when the band and jewel weren't worth very much money.

Gir mentioned after we got back to our table, that she had seen the person that bumped into me and planted the ring in the first place. She wanted to find him to ask some questions, and I didn't have a problem with it, so all went outside. Well, not all of us. Malorrin and Rayne stayed at the tavern. They said they would wait to see if the man came back, but I think they were just avoiding work.

We got outside and Gir was already sniffing for a trail. She found a number of them, but we could only follow one, and the others had gone cold by the time we reached our first dead end. So, our hands empty and our bellies emptier, we headed back for a quick meal and went to bed.

We got a message the next day saying that Fellidra Jer wanted to see us for dinner again. So we passed the day wondering what decision she had finally come to. Once evening had come, we headed to her home and spent another lovely evening in her presence and with wonderful food. But it wasn't only her that we had dinner with. There was also an ambassador from the country from across the Aras Sea. He told us that he had also encountered members of the Tolwyn Protectorate in his country and was very eager to get rid of them.

At the end of dinner, Fellidra revealed her decision. She wanted to know more about the Protectorate and their leader, so she asked to do something for her. We were asked to travel to the lands of the Protectorate and do as much research as we could. That would of course mean that we would have to infiltrate the Protectorate's ranks, pretending to want to join them, and then find out as much as we could without getting caught, and undoubtedly killed. There was no promise of payment from her. She told us that she was asking us as a favor. There are not enough resources to send men into the Protectorate, though she did assure us that there would probably be plenty of treasure on the way and any that we found would be ours to keep.

We didn't make a decision that night. We all have a lot to think about before we settle on an answer to Fellidra's proposal. We would certainly be putting ourselves at more risk than we ever have before. I, myself, don't know what I am going to do. The thought of adventure, new lands, and plenty of treasure hunting is very enticing. I just don't know about infiltrating an entire country that would be very hostile toward us if we were found out. Not to mention we don't even know how to get there. It would be very dangerous... but probably a lot of fun too. I'll have to sleep on it.

There is no doubt about it though. Trouble likes to follow us around. I almost feel like someone is just testing us for something bigger.

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