Rudal's Travel Journal

Obtained randomly from looting a Sunken Treasure Chest. The purpose of these existing are unclear..

Story:

Entry #2: I had other loves, though... The sweet memory of my first love still invigorates my weary body. Shuhana... an apothecary in Hatora. When I was young, she let me sample all the new cure-alls she discovered. Some people said they didn't do anything, but I think they're why I stayed so healthy adventuring. I wonder if she still gives some lucky young man free samples...

Entry #38: I went to the busiest tavern I could find and tried to lose myself in the crowd, drinking and watching the full moon out the window. Moon. Miyan. She sprung back into my mind, the memory of her presence crashing against me like waves on a shore. I couldn't recall what she looked like. It was as if her portrait had simply been painted over.

Entry #42: Gorillas attacked me at the Shrine of Reunion. I was so surprised to see them, I ended up falling off a cliff. I lay in the brush at the bottom, enveloped in pain, and closed my eyes. "This is how you die," I thought, just before blackness overtook me.

Entry #53: A priest at a Shrine to Salphira told me that a sacred energy with divine powers dwelt in Silent Forest. I went there immediately. Surely divine powers could maintain Banya's humanity.

Entry #58: I made it to a small islet in the middle of the lake and found a wood elemental there that was willing to talk. I questioned it about the power of the gods, and it said the giant trees had been imbued with that power. When I asked what the original source of the power was, the elemental said it was at the bottom of the lake. The archeologist had been right.

Entry #69: As I fumed at the old Firran, one of his friends explained Nuthur was senile. My cheeks flushed with shame. I'd nearly gotten myself killed by orcs from listening to some senile old Firran. I'd need to be more careful who I trusted in the future.

Entry #75: I began to drift off to sleep; it was not an unpleasant sensation. But then, I remembered Miyan. I had not yet fully atoned for her death. Giving Banya permanent life as a human being... that would be the ultimate atonement. A sense of responsibility filled me, spreading its warmth throughout my entire body. It felt like the energy that had overtaken me in the lake.

I swung the handle of my dagger at the wall again, prying out a chunk for another foothold.

Entry #77: The air was as thin wraith's cloak, and I could barely breathe... but I barely noticed. I sat and watched the ships sailing off the coast of Villanelle, creeping across the water as if in slow-motion. Gazing down at the world through passing clouds--it was like the point-of-view of a god.

Entry #82: I managed to get myself employed in the household of a local marchesa; a royal house was the best place to gain more details about the planned expedition. I deliberately bumped into the marchesa numerous times, throwing out a witty phrase at each opportunity.

I was engaging enough that she appointed me as her personal manservant. It was somewhat rewarding to know that I still had my charms.

Entry #85: I secured a position as a worker on one of the expedition parties. The marchesa was more than happy to give me a positive reference, though she regretting seeing me leave. However, my happiness was short-lived. It quickly transformed into... utter joy. Banya had come to see me off.

We spent a few blissful weeks together. She occasionally turned into a fox, but I kept her safe. We even found a remote cabin for her to rent while I was gone, where she'd be safe from hunters and prying eyes.