Journal Entry 2: A journey begun, ended?
It was with no small amount of relief that I took my first steps off of the Mercantile and onto the docks of Hawksmouth. People of all types bustled about — recruits looking for work and deckhands moving crates of goods. It took me several minutes to adjust to the commotion, but soon I was able to notice one man in particular that was attending a group of recruits.
I hear you're the new free labo...recruit?
I approached the man, whose name I overheard as Ilk Eldon, and asked what the next stop for recruits was.
“Recruit, eh? What’s your name…” He thumbed through his records.
“Siofra, sir.”
“Siofra? Siofra… don’t see… ah, wait — you’re quite late, you know that?”
“Yes sir, sorry about that but the ship I was on was delayed, slightly. It was the Mercantile.”
He looked up from his pages then for a moment. “The Mercantile? Well, no wonder! You’ll need to report to Captain Dalheart in Hawksmouth. But first could you do me a favor?” I did not have time to respond. “Yes? Good! I need you to collect the various guard reports from the towers all over Hawksmouth and take them to Dalheart. This will save us plenty of work.”
I tried to get some words in, but the next bunch of recruits pushed me out of the way. Where were these guard towers even at? I guess I should just look for tall buildings…
“Hey! You! Yes, the rogue!” Some man was calling out, to me I supposed. Before I could respond he came up to me. “Chenger’s the name, say — you came off that Mercantile ship, yeah? I heard what it went through.” That was fast. “I could use your help, you see… the bear population is getting out of control here in Hawksmouth — it’s almost not safe to venture out! Could you take a few of the beasts down? Thanks!”
What is it with these people of Hawksmouth? They never allow time for someone to respond! Nevertheless I now had my first… ‘quests’ if you could call them that. So, I headed out into the forests of Hawksmouth for my first taste of adventure.
The forests here are quite nice, very calm… save for the rampaging bears and boars. I caught site of my first target merely yards from the docks. You have to be careful while facing these beasts — even the young ones are tough and strong. I find it best to strike with a bow from a distance, drawing its attention and dealing some damage before they can get close. That is exactly what I did with this first prey of mine.
The bow twinged sharply as my arrow flew truly, striking the bear in the shoulder — a loud and startled roar pierced the serene forest. He charged me then, jaws open — drool and tongue flying about as massive teeth glistened off the sunlight. I drew my saber before it closed fully, anticipating its first attack so I could dodge it and strike. The bears muscles gave itself away as it prepared to strike from the left. A quick dodge to the right and I struck the beast underneath its throat — slicing the jugular cleanly. It struggled to stand for a few moments as blood poured from the wound, but soon it fell — my first taste of combat on Hawksmouth and my first victory.
Battle of might and will...
The rest of the bears I needed to cull came quickly and easily after that as I trekked around looking for the guard houses. The first of which I found towards the center of Hawksmouth. The tower was well fortified with several guards around — the one I needed was at the top of the tower, of course, necessitating a rather high climb.
Don't slip... Don't sli-
I hate heights. It was with this hate and fear that I made my first mistake — slipping. I was climbing back down when, before I knew it, I was falling. It didn’t take long to hit the ground as the tower was not very tall, but it was tall enough to end my short life. Siofra, slayer of razorhands, of bears — felled by wet boots and gravity.
At least, I was for the few minutes it took to resurrect at a nearby life stone. That few minutes left me thinking though. Was I really cut out for this life? Is this what I really wanted? I decided to suspend my meeting with Dalheart and take some time to think and look around…
There are a few farms in Hawksmouth. I’ve since took up turnip growing. It’s quite pleasant. Inbetween growing seasons I have time off to myself which I like to spend alone, or with some friends of mine.
New occupation.
I do not know if I will be returning to the life of a recruit, this current existence is quite nice. Perhaps, in the future, I will find some need or reason to take up my roguish ways… But for now I think I’ll enjoy my time with the hoppys.
Thanks for reading!
