A Land Far Away

The man in black.

The savior of Hardeth's Glen...

Or should I say martyr?

Where was I when he was giving his life for my village?

I was hiding out in my hole, afraid that if I went outside the Gnolls would slaughter me like they did my mom and da. It isn't very heroic

I suppose a braver hin would have joined the resistance. But I was young. What was I going to do against these monsters? It took the brave sacrifice of one man to show me how cowardly i truly was.

After coming out of my hole for the first time in months, I visited the village over the hill and found it mostly burnt down. The temple to lathander was still standing as well as a couple of others. But the tavern my father frequented was nothing but a smoldering pile of wood and stone.

Gnoll and halfling corpses littered the town. The stench was unbearable. I joined in with the villagers and started to drag the dead gnolls outside of town to be burned. Other's gathered up the dead and prepared them for burial. Better to be dead and at peace than to live and bare the burden of cowardice.

As we burned the last of the gnoll bodies, I vowed that I would not ever hide in my hole again. No matter what the cost. Never again will this village have to look to others for help. I swear on the memories of those who gave their lives to liberate our village that I will do everything in my power to protect it in the future. Even if that means my death.

I just pray that I find the courage that has eluded me so far....

Peroido Wesher of Daggerdale

It has been awhile since I last wrote in my journal. I have been running so much that I can no longer feel my legs.

Where do I start?

Do I dare express in writing how angry I am right now? How angry that I have been driven from my home in Hardeth's Glen because of the black network? How those black agents have hunted me since I had caught the attention of one of Lord Randall Morn's traitorous advisors?

I do not think that wise but suffice it to say that I have eluded two attempts on my life and feel that I need to move south.

I took the Northride all the way down into Cormyr as I traveled with a caravan whose leader I paid to take me to Arabel. The close we got the more army patrols we ran into. The Purple Dragons were nice enough when we ran into them but were all business as we were frequently told to stop so they could search out our wagons. I suspect they were looking for Zhent spies but they declined to say.

I departed from the caravan once we reach Arabel and stayed with some distant kin that lived in the city. I stayed with them for a month and thought I had found a respite from the danger that had harassed me in Daggerdale. But then I started to catch out of the corner of my eye, men who were tailing me and I knew that I had to leave that night.

I kissed my kin farewell and hooked up with another caravan taking a short trip south then west by way of the Manticore highway.

I traveled with them for many days till we reached Selgaunt. Already I suspect that I may have made a mistake as when I got to the gates. A guard harassed me right away and accused me of eyeing his moneybag. I was taken a back. It was soon apparent from the people I met that they were not friendly in the least bit, (Not like my stay in Cormyr) these people were distrustful, cynical and down right rude. Only their hatred for elves is surpassed by their distain for Hin.

I was not in the city for 5 min when a dog approached me and began to whimper. I normally would chase it away but this dog was well kept and I suspected that whoever owned it must be in trouble. I followed the dog to Copper Alley where sure enough a corpse was lying there in the middle of the road. It was dark and no one had happened upon it yet. As I bent down to try to discern what happened, a rouge from the shadows leaped out and tried to gut me right there.

I fumbled with my sword and if it wasn't for that dog attacking him before he could take a stab at me, I may have been killed on the spot. I righted myself and remembered what Ariel Ironstar had taught me in one of our many lessons and was able to dispatch the villain.

After my encounter I ran to one of the guards in black to report what had happened. After trying several times to get his attention, he whirled on me and I thought he was going to attack me as well. When I started to tell him about the corpse and the ruffian, he laughed at me and told me the street sweepers would take care of the rubbish. He really made me feel like I was wasting his time and that he could not be bothered to do his job.

Yes, I am going to find things hard here in Selgaunt. I would leave today but I am out of money and must find some work in order to continue my journeys. I just hope that nothing bad happens in the meantime.

Ido Wesher