Recovered Entries from the Diary of Mel Felspar at Age 28

06/05/8572

Card: 2 of Spades, Ancient Ruins

I have finally found the ruins! They were surrounded on all sides by large cliffs but luckily there was a small pathway inside. The buildings are remarkably intact for being abandoned for so long! 

Card: Queen of Hearts, an illness

I traveled through the ancient streets searching high and low for any clues to its abandonment. I traveled through what seemed like a residential area. Many of the doors were marked with faded paint of a giant ‘X’ on them. It reminded me of the homes marked for quarantine in Naehr during the plague five years ago. 

Cards: 9 of Diamonds, a new species, Ace of Clubs A map

I traveled down the main road into the town square and stopped when I heard noises. In the center were gathered small creatures, all about a foot in height. They looked to be some sort of feline but green and blue, the colors of the nearby plants. They skittered around the walls with their extra limbs and made strange noises at each other, somewhere between a hiss and a moan. I must have made some sort of noise because they all turned to look at me at once and scampered deeper into the ruins. 

I entered the town square and immediately saw in the center a large map. It was behind a pane of thick glass and protected from the elements. It looked as crisp as the day it was made. I quickly copied it down and sketched an image of the creatures. 

10/19/8575

Card: queen of Spades, A city

I had finally reached the Capital of Cricenal. It was as ornate as I was led to believe. The streets were all paved in a fine, smooth stone and each building was washed clean white. I could hear the city’s doves chirping and singing from every corner I visited. Luckily there were many other strangers in the city besides myself so I didn’t feel as though I was creating a spectacle. 

Card: 3 of Hearts, a wandering spirit

As I wandered down the city, looking for a cheap place to stay the night I saw with my very eyes a ghost. Then another, then a third and soon a whole procession. I stared in awe as I watched them travel down the street, ignoring everything and everyone. I asked the clerk about it when I had found a place to stay. She said that it happened every night and it was the soul of those who had died that day heading out to their final resting place. She was sure to tell me that they are harmless and that they cannot interact with anything or anyone. I was still unnerved that this could happen in the first place. She told me she thought it happened everywhere. 

11/30/8575

Card: 7 of Diamonds, a trinket ; Queen of Clubs A New Love

It was on my final day in the city that I met a strange woman. She was in search of a travel companion who was heading up North to the Wenninen Mountain Range. I told her I was traveling up North a bit but not that far. She said that was fine and she insisted on accompanying me. I had no reason to tell her no, other than for a fear of my own safety, and since she wasn’t the slightest bit threatening we left together the next morning. 

Before we left she pinned a small broach on the inside of my coat. It was a small metal circle with a sprig of fresh Anise. Cherice told me it was for protection and kissed me on the cheek. 

12/05/8575

Card: 4 of spades

Cherice still won’t tell me about herself even though I’ve told her all about me. Every time I ask she winks and says maybe later. Oh well…. We’ve made camp in a forest in between Cricenal and Errentol. 

12/08/8575

Card: 6 of Hearts, Cross Dangerous Terrain

There is a new gorge between the cities, one that isn’t on any map and one I haven’t heard from any of the people in the city. Cherice hadn’t heard of it either and we serpent some time speculating on how it got there. Eventually we concluded there must have been a massive earthquake that tore the earth appart. 

We spent a day looking for ways to get down or across and came up with nothing. We would need to go around the damned thing. This would make our journey far longer. I counted the arrows I had left for hunting and it was less than 10. We would need to be quick or we would starve.

12/18/8575

Cards:  2 of Diamonds, an ancient artefact, 9 of clubs, a beast

I am still shaking. I can’t think straight. What happened?? What happened??? Cherice is acting like nothing is wrong and is smiling as she cooks the meat. How can she be so calm? 

I killed a wilder-boar today. Cherice had been tracking it with her pendulum but even she didn’t know what it was at the time. There were no tracks or other signs so I had to trust in her magic. When we came upon it it nearly killed us! It took one look at us and charged straight at us. We would have died if the beast hadn’t tripped over a stone and crashed into a tree. I managed to take out a short sword and hack away at it until it was dead. 

Cherice said it was the anise that saved us and I needed to throw it away because it would only attract back luck now. I don’t know if I believe her but I tossed it anyway.  

….

She found something in its stomach. It was a small metal ingot inscribed with Divine script. She said it had fused to the side of the stomach and that’s why the beast hadn’t passed it. This thing is old, but even I can’t tell how old. She wants nothing to do with it. 

12/30/8575

Card: 5 of Spades, Castle

We reached Errentol today! Finally! We could see the castle peeking out of the trees for days before we finally arrived. I can’t wait to see it in person! Cherice said she had seen it before and wasn’t as excited. I asked her if she wanted to accompany me when I took a tour. She shrugged and said she might as well!

…

It was wonderful! There was a room made entirely of tiny mirrors and glass and made green light glitter all around us! We saw the Ink Crown, several royal paintings, and the remains of the Stone Arm!

1/2/8576

Card: 2  of Hearts natural disaster

An earthquake shook again today. It was violent and several buildings collapsed. Cherise and I were lucky  since we were outside at the time. The castle is still intact though one of the towers fell into a nearby field. I don’t know how many casualties there were today but the city is in mourning. Cherice and I talked to people in the inn about the quakes. They said they had become more frequent and more violent lately. We told them about the new gorge and they said they weren’t surprised. 

1/10/8576

Cards: 4 of Diamonds, A book 7 of Clubs an ancient Evil

I had to surrender the ingot today. I didn’t even get paid. I went to a public library to see if I could find anything about the damned thing while Cherice did other things in town (she wouldn’t tell me.) I was looking at a translation for Divine script when I saw a priest looking at me. She talked to me for a bit and I told her where I found the ingot. 

I could tell she was trying not to look panicked and she told me she knew someone who knew what it was. I went with her, hoping I could sell it or something and she brought me into a large temple and then into one of the back rooms. There I met a much older priest and she asked to see the ingot. I let her look at it for a bit. 

She examined it then called for a third assistant who placed it into an iron box. I began to protest saying it was mine, and she explained to me it was part of a much larger piece that was suppressing a great and terrible evil. They had been looking for the pieces since the temple was founded. 

I didn’t believe her at first but she took me to another room and showed me a small collection of the ingots. They were arranged in a pile where the script continued from one ingot to another in a flowing and confusing pattern. There was no reason not to believe her, stranger things existed in the world, but still…. She could have at least given me a finders fee. 

1/10/8576

Card: 7 of spades, a place of worship

I decided to take a look around the rest of the public temple while I was there. There were some other attendants giving a tour and I joined in. They talked about the stained glass window and the altar piece and the many prophets that received visions here. It was very preachy, but I did learn some new things about the building. 

1/11/8576

Card: King of Hearts, path blocked

Cherice and I tried to leave Errentol today but the entire city is blocked off by the guards. They said that the nearby roads had been hit by the earthquake and it wasn’t safe to travel. Cherice is livid and wants to try to leave the city anyway. She got into an altercation with one of the guards and I didn’t have enough to pay her bail fee so she stayed the night in prison. 

11/12/8576

Cards: Jack of Clubs, A playful creature, King of Diamonds, a new food 

She got us out of the city somehow… Cherice took us to the road leading out of town and took out a pouch from her bag. She opened it and poured what looked like a shadow out into the floor. She pointed to the guards and out sprang a black horse from the darkness. The horse ran at full speed towards the guards and barreled through them. They scattered then chased after the creature, leaving the gate exposed for us to run through.  After a bit the shadow horse joined us and pranced around before dissipating in the sun. 

I asked her about the shadow later and she said it turns into whatever we need for a short time. She reached into the pouch and pulled out a small shadow-fig and gave it to me. I tried to eat it but it tasted like cold mist. She laughed at me.