5th of Raskine (First month of Spring)
Mid Afternoon
Region Map: The Borderlands of Eastern Jeres
We bought canoes from
Mac Ru and made our way to
Old Island, landing and hiding our canoes on the northeast shore.
Moving on, we made our way west, to the northen middle point of the island. Here we encountered
Fingol atop his cabin.
Although we learned that
Rutcranna had multiple daughters, our attempt to parlay took an abrupt turn for the worse when Qiu flung a sack of goods in an effort to knock over
Fingol's haze spewing cauldron. All hell broke loose as the group splintered apart, Thorn and Ivor making an assault on Fingol's cabin as five masked foes appeared --
Hivers-- out of the haze, clearly intent on our death.
Talius, Qiu, and myself stood our ground against the
Hive's immediate and fierce assault, which happened before we could even react, the five of them throwing themselves at us with reckless abandon. I suffered the brunt of the initial onslaught and almost fell before drawing my blade, and if it weren't for Qiu and Talius, would likely be dead. They saw the dire nature of my situation and put themselves in harm's way. However, these masked men of the Hive were powerful enemies, and we were outnumbered.
By the time Phantom and Bird had focused their attention on Ivor and Thorn, it was too late. The damage had been done while the
Hive had a superior advantage. Qiu was dragged off into
An Tulacheo by Bear and Goat. With my own eyes I even saw him pulled through the air with the Hivers by some unseen force! Witchery?! Having felled the Bull, Talius immediately charged into the lake after Qiu, hoping to somehow save him.
Battered and beaten from the initial assault, it was seconds later that I realized the folly of Talius' heroics: no man would come out of that water alive. Talius must have realized his error as well and swam back toward the shoreline, desperately trying to escape alligators and what I assume were Goat and Bear. Qiu was nowhere to be seen.
It would have been suicide to go in after Talius, just as it was suicide for Talius to go in after Qiu. There were still men on land I could still lend aid to, and Talius, although still swimming, was already dead. It wasn't easy, but I wasn't just going to stand there and watch him die. Nothing I could do but leave him to the cruel Fates, always so willing to take a man in his prime.
I have to ask myself... if we had stayed together as a unit, supporting one another in combat... would Qiu and Talius have died?
Other details of the day, of which I gained an accounting of later:
Thorn slew
Fingol (a witch?) and battled mortally with Phantom, wherein
Maeriks (the slow lad from Driftwood!) saved him from the Fates sharp knives (why he was there... did he follow us? was he summoned by
Rutcranna somehow, who seems to have a great deal of care for him?). Upon seeing Thorn it was clear death had knocked on his door. Thorn also mentioned a
Dark Tree south of the cabin, in the wood. One that released some gray-green poisonous cloud, which, as fortune would have it, dissipated over time. Although none of us could account for the death of Phantom, Bear, or Goat, my inclination is that the same invisible force that pulled Phantom into the poisonous cloud also took Goat and Bear.
Note: More and more, I'm like to believe that magic... witchery... whatever you want to call it... it's real.
After the battle,
Rutcranna showed us the
creatures(?) that had latched on to the spines of the Hive warriors, who had apparently once been simple men,
Bat Hannoc. 'Spiners' I call them; seem to be part of what changes men to Hivers. Maybe part of some witchery.
Rutcranna also took the time to butcher the fallen Hivers, taking care to show us that they could carry on after being felled, and that severe wounding was needed to keep them down. Limb removal, broken necks or spines, that kind of thing.
Strangely enough,
Rutcranna also instructed us that she believed the spiners could somehow 'hear' for their masters? Whether or not this is true, I cannot be certain. However, given the strange day and circumstance, one can't be too safe.
We're out of our depth here, in some ways, and until we know any better... seems best to follow her lead. Enemy of my enemy and such. It's better than guesswork, in any case. She knows the lay of the land, otherwise we're blind out here in the Borgh. Doesn't mean we have to trust her, though, and I'm sure Ivor and Thorn will both have an eye on her.
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We got our assess handed to us today in that fight with the Hive, our divided strength making us like prey at the watering hole, easy targets... two dead. From here I don't think the job gets easier... moving forward we've got to be more careful, or we can expect more of the same.
Reminds me of something Habbiacus had told me once, when he was lecturing me on the finer points of contract work and making a living as a mercenary. He'd told me
"Kray, heroes don't spend coin or enjoy the pleasures of women, wine, or song, nor do they tell tales of their 'great' deeds." Of course, being a child at the time, I had dreams of grandeur in my mind, of playing the part of hero, as I head heard in so many stories. Of course, I asked him.
"Why?" His reply was simple and to the point.
"They're too busy being dead." Habbiacus elaborated on the statement, and the meaning was clear: do the job, nothing more, nothing less. It was all that was required of a professional mercenary.
