Mama Nina's Diary - Borderline Dead (Complete)

6th March

Today we reached the Citadel of the Raven, and I learnt that each member of the group chose different occupations. The wood elf named Troy and Broderick, the human with the tiny owlet, are both to be sheriffs. White Raven, who is of a strange race that I have not met before, has gone to the main Citadel to join the missionaries. I doubt we shall have cause to interact, now that we are on the verge of the settlements. I get a strange feeling that there is something pulling at us. So, I may be wrong.

I visited the most expensive store I have ever seen in my entire life, the Wondrous Emporium.

The only thing wondrous is why I give the hag, Sarog, the blood of my veins. But the dread feeling of coming evil hovers over me like the pressure of a storm. I am troubled in my mind and soul, so I must prepare..

Even more so when I visited the halls of Lady Rosa Brandauer. The half-elf pointed out, in the ways of elves, that I have no choice but to visit this town, Hertzwald, and 'investigate' the disappearance of the settlers and their families. "Investigate", my butt. Pah. She wants the problem solved and I sense I am not the first 'investigator' she has sent to their deaths. But her words do intrigue me. A cult that uses pleasure to draw in the prey, hmm, like the "pitcher plant" with its sweet scent luring in the unwary.

I stopped at the Crooked Tombstone for an ale and meal. The group from the road was all there and the threads I've been imagining have grown stronger. I listen to each telling their tales of being placed on the path that leads to Hertzwald. That name rings a tone of dread deep into my bones every time I hear it.

The meal was nutritious, but not like Gogo used to make. She could make a bowl of gruel, put hair on your chest and give the men energy to work all day. But perhaps they were just frightened to get offered a second bowl if they showed any signs of fatigue. Ha. This ale is horse piss, but I wonder if I shall see another anytime in the next few days, so drink it I shall.

The little group feels comfortable, and I listen to their discussion and plans for leaving on the wagons in the next few hours. I am not sure that leaving so late in the afternoon will lead to a safe trip through the woods, but the hardships of the road will show the metal of the group.

If my feelings are not the ramblings of an anxious mind, there is a much greater evil waiting in Hertzwald. Best we find out what everyone is capable of sooner rather than later.