tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60342194565738835032012-02-16T07:52:52.150-08:00Shadenoreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-68337527066535367252009-02-20T16:11:00.000-08:002009-03-09T10:46:56.020-07:00

From my Apprentice Hunter journal:I feel my heart racing even as I slow my breath to keep the mist from obscuring my vision or, worse, giving my position away. I feel every texture of the loam and half frozen leaves I am pressed down on, of the wolf skin I wear, and of the trees and bushes concealing me. My heightened senses subconsciously categorize and filter the thousands of scents vying for

Shadenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-50477223491102318422008-12-04T15:39:00.000-08:002008-12-06T20:20:57.715-08:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, final entry:I have never been as happy to see an overgrown lizard and a demon spawn as when Krova and Zar'za finally caught back up with us. There is just something comforting about having a Cleric nearby, even one like Zar'za.With the party whole again once more we continued deeper into the ruins.It wasn't long before we

Shadenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-52465602984840736482008-12-04T15:03:00.000-08:002008-12-04T15:50:41.813-08:00

Even the passage of so much time cannot erase the emotions induced by that first near death experience, or the changes it wrought within me. Rarely have I ever been as profoundly effected by an event as I was then, no matter how much I tried to cover it with humor and bravado in my journal, and it left its mark on the rest of my life.It may be a result of the length of time my race lives, under

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-23299125520465445362008-12-03T09:15:00.000-08:002008-12-04T14:45:00.477-08:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry four, part two: Did I ever tell you about the time I almost died?I found my group battered and bloody, but resting. Since Lars, Lodi, and I were still in good condition we decided to let the others rest while we did some more scouting. I don't know what I was thinking, mistakes like those can be fatal.We proceeded

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-89159130160511711362008-12-03T08:44:00.000-08:002008-12-03T09:14:46.756-08:00

I cannot help but chuckle to myself as I read the next passage in my journal. I was so brash in my youth, so full of myself. It was inconceivable to me that my talents would not be enough to see me through any situation, and I behaved accordingly.Shortly after the battle in the trenches I slipped into the shadows, letting my group continue on without me. There was only one exit from the

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-6186626911260246292008-12-02T14:32:00.000-08:002008-12-04T14:47:09.743-08:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry four, part one:We had gathered enough information by this time that it became apparent that our next step was to stop the summoning of the Demon Lord Orcus, which we all agreed would probably not end well for us if he managed to enter this realm. We gathered provisions and set out on the trail to the keep, but

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-88575974627885592552008-11-04T08:15:00.000-08:002008-11-07T16:54:09.072-08:00

I become acutely aware of the smell of burning tallow and old parchment as I lean back and close my weary eyes. I have been working at this for days now, and it seems that I have made little progress. Ordinarily such things matter not to those with lifespans as long as mine, a life long enough that mortality seems to be the problem of the lesser races.I am old enough now, though, that mortality

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-60245873486863483512008-10-17T08:38:00.000-07:002008-11-02T16:37:14.487-08:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry three, parth two:We entered town battered, bruised, and exhausted, but also mindful of the fact that we had the work of at least one shapeshifter to deal with. As long as it was only that one then we were fine, having just killed it. Judging by the mood of the group I don't think any of us truly believed there was

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-3270018698522242372008-08-12T13:05:00.001-07:002008-08-12T13:05:46.422-07:00

I feel myself startle back to awareness as the sounds and smells of battle fade into the ancient past where they belong. Memory is a fickle thing, allowing some experiences to slip through its grasp while maintaining a death grip on others. I would that we had more choice over which memories were forgotten and which retained, and which were vivid and which were soft. Even now as I set my quill to

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-81581811436002969172008-08-12T10:47:00.000-07:002008-08-13T14:40:39.490-07:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry three, parth one:After speaking with Valthren we decided that we would head north to check out the ruins we were told about, but first would get ourselves a well deserved rest. My meditation was fitful, though, and I found myself groggy and unfocused.Lodi ended up being commandeered by the Halfling elder, we are not

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-13030394179394635262008-07-09T09:06:00.000-07:002008-08-12T11:17:42.282-07:00

As my time-stiffened fingers copy the words written in my youth I find myself both amused and embarrassed by how brash and full of myself I was then. Could I have truly been so judgmental and self confident? One of the benefits of youth is to be completely oblivious to ones own ignorance and shortcomings. I wonder just how much we would be able to accomplish if we actually knew the truth of

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-50955245750400456342008-07-08T11:02:00.000-07:002008-07-09T09:36:29.320-07:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry two, part two:We rested briefly after our battle with Ironteeth, and discussed continuing on to investigate The Third Sinister Rib. We had expended much of our energy, true, but we all felt we had more than enough left to at least look into it and go from there.After a few hours of travel we came upon a large pit

Shadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-16464685922045783352008-07-08T10:52:00.000-07:002008-08-12T10:45:07.947-07:00

I pause a moment to reflect on what I have copied from my journal, amazed that I had missed so much. I try to comfort myself with the knowledge that some things are much clearer after you have experienced them than they are when you are in the thick of it, and that I was very young. The wisdom that comes with age will allow little consolation from such justifications, however, and so I press on

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-30897340994426296572008-07-07T19:10:00.000-07:002008-07-08T15:24:49.601-07:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry two, part one:An opportunity to scout the local keep did not readily present itself, given the lower priority, nor did I have a chance to question Krova about the mystical circle from yesterday. All things considered, I now wonder if it is important enough to bring up at all. But I get ahead of myself, I suppose.We

Shadenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-11454098230519440272008-07-07T15:07:00.000-07:002008-07-07T15:19:37.653-07:00

From my professional journal during the Keep on the Shadowfell missions, entry one:After receiving my instructions I set out to gather basic support. I called upon Zar'Za the Tiefling Cleric of the Silver Flame, and Krova'karthis the Dragonborn Paladin of the Sovereign Host. We geared up lightly for the mission and set out at daybreak. My companions know me only by Shade, as do all save those

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-45471525623311499272008-07-07T14:33:00.000-07:002008-07-07T15:18:38.558-07:00

Even after all these centuries the words written in this journal cause my withered hands to tremble with the memories they invoke. Faces of old companions haunt my vision like ghosts, and my tears are like manifestations of phantasmal blood shed in service to our various patrons.But I was young then, and did not fully understand the costs imposed by honor and duty.~ Shade, so named for contrasts

Shadenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6034219456573883503.post-53153137071345198072008-07-07T14:28:00.001-07:002008-07-07T14:28:54.692-07:00

Snow falls lazily from the sky, echoing the flow of thought through my aged mind. Many are the lifetimes of Men I have counted, old even for one of my own kind. That is more of a wonder than it might at first seem, for I have not lead any easy life. Not that it has been a bad life, but I have certainly exercised more than my fair share of recklessness.I laugh in wonder that I have survived

Shadenoreply@blogger.com2