Day 1

I could not have imagined that my first day journeying beyond the monastery walls would be quite so eventful.  After receiving the blessing of High Master Cadman and exchanging goodbyes with my mentor, Master Jensen, I headed for the town of Berdust.  There, I visited the home of a wizard named Lakmere, who had helped Master Jensen to locate documents and artifacts for the Great Collection of our order in the past. He mentioned that there was an artifact I might seek out, but suggested I should test my mettle first, so he told me of a different artifact that is hidden in a cave in the Troll Mountains.  I find myself wondering just how many artifacts he knows about and how. I understand that wizards spend a great deal of time in study, but I thought they mostly studied the arcane arts.  Do such studies simply lead to repositories of items of historical significance as well?

As I was leaving Lakmere’s home, I noticed a jar with a certain symbol on it.  I recall seeing this symbol before and recognize it as a symbol associated with necromancy.  I find it curious and wonder why Lakmere would have an item with markings associated with such a forbidden art. I realize that while the practice of necromancy itself is outlawed, possessing items associated with it and learning about it is not illegal. Still, the whole thing has disturbed me. The next time I am able to access the Library, I will have to look up this symbol and learn more about it, such as its precise meaning and use in the forbidden art. Hopefully, that will either alleviate my concerns or prove them justified.

After gathering some supplies I had overlooked, I then began my journey south to the Troll Mountains. I had been hoping for an uneventful day of walking, but I was followed by a human who attacked me when I confronted him. It appears that he had been under some sort of magical control, which broke after I landed a few solid blows to his torso. The poor man did not remember anything that had happened after whatever enchantment was over him had broken. He told me his name was Bleak and I sent him back to Berdust after making sure his wounds would not claim his life before he arrived. I felt somewhat bad for him once I realized he was not in control of his own actions when he attacked me. I find myself wondering if I should use less lethal means against my opponents. I wonder what Master Jensen would say to that.

I traveled until the light had faded to a point where my vision was going to start failing me, then made this camp I hope to get at least a few hours sleep before I resume my journey southward.

One final mystery -- of a personal nature -- is also on my mind.  Before I left the monastery this morning, Master Jensen gave me a pure gold pendant and told me that I had it with me when he found me and brought me to the monastery roughly fourteen years ago. I do not remember having it, but I admit that I remember very little from before I was eight.  I have mostly tried to purge the memories of my year as a slave between my seventh and eighth birthdays from my mind.

The pendant leaves me with questions, though. It has a family crest on it. I cannot place the family’s name, but I recall reading about them. That bloodline has a long history of deals with devils and other insidious dealings. How did I come to possess such an heirloom, though? While I think my parents are awful for selling me into slavery, I find it hard to believe that they were part of such a horrible heritage.  Plus, they sold me into slavery to get out of a debt.  Surely they would have sold this pendant instead.  Wouldn’t they?  Perhaps it was the property of my former owner, Bjorg. I could believe that I stole it from him while being forced to serve him. Little acts of defiance like that were how I survived that whole ordeal.

I shall have to think more on all of these mysteries, but I will not solve them by the light of this campfire, it is time rest my body and rejuvenate my soul. These thoughts will wait until morning.