Of Loss

I write this as we leave Rittersmarche, my thoughts are scattered at the time as my entry will be below:

I have seen death. I have witnessed death. I have given death. Death is a constant in the lives of these mortals.

I write this as I have recently lost someone who has a special meaning in my life. Burton Thunderblood. The dwarf who so many years ago deferred his healing to me, again deferred himself so his fellow warriors (to include myself) could continue to draw breath.

We arrived in Rittersmarche and our worst fears were true. The town was under sway (unbeknownst to itself) of false pretenses. The mayor Hood; while a good man is completely worthless and wastes air when he breathes. We tried to warn him that something was wrong at the manor but he assured us Grudi (the Prince's emissary) said everything was fine. When we asked him what Grudi looked like it did not match our recollections of what he looked like.

So me and my companions decided to keep watch of the manor, and got spurred on by the original Patriots of Ulek (I saw this as a mockery because this is the group that the counsel had originally sent that had enraged the Prince). It turns out they live and they are doing quite well.

They are led by a female ranger named Shayla of the Suss who truly has the personality of a puddle of mud. Shame really because physically she is truly quite breathtaking. I see a lot of pain in her face, and she is fortunate because most half elf women have the broader human shoulders and she does not. Quite lovely, just needs to smile some more.

The group also includes a sailor from Hardby who goes by Kildare Redding. I fear I have insulted him when I called him a dirt sailor. I believe he is truly the leader of this group. He is smart and must be a magi, although I do not recognize his name so his training and schooling must be suspect at best. An intriguing fellow that I look forward to engaging in conversation with.

Another member of this group is a halfling who like the ranger has the personality of a brick. I never did catch his name. He didn't say much and didn't smile. Clearly the rogue. He too looked like he had a lot on his mind. I figure he is originally from this area but has spent a long time away; living on the streets somewhere i imagine.

My favorite Patriot is clearly the cleric, Perry. They had to have pulled this man out of some wondering carnival show. He stands tall nearly 6 and a half feet. He is lanky, pale, and completely daft looking. He has bright orange hair than explodes off his head like some untrimmed shrubbery.

Truer patriots I have never seen. That being said, they have done well up to this point and are really quite a brave group of individuals (or extremely dense).

They began the siege on the manor which took us by surprise and we immediately joined forces. We headed straight to the vault figuring that is where they went; well they didn't. They went upstairs.

Either way, this is where dear Burton met his demise. Drazil and Ruggin were occupied fighting off many orcs and goblins and my back was turned providing them support. Burton fought behind us by the stairs. We were all alerted when he yelled the words "By Moradin".

As it turns out there was a cleric of Incabolus creeping in behind us. Burton's actions prompted the cleric to Hold him and as he did a vicious worg leaped on him and ripped his face off.....

Ruggin went berzerk, nearly knocking me to the ground. He was made impotent by another spell. I ended up destroying the cleric and further destroyed the rest of the enemy. The Patriots showed up later with the Graf of this town.

We found later a group of prisoners laying underneath dead and bleeding bodies. This was an abhorrent find. Turrosh Mak and his minions are the epitome of evil. The madness of our discovery and evacuating the prisoners we did find did not lend us time to pause and mourn our fallen brother. So I do now.

We destroyed the manor and let it burn. Drazil insisted on letting Burton burn where he died. Another honor thing I don't understand but I respect more and more.

I don't know what the cleric had in store for us, but if Burton had not warned us I might not be able to sit here and write this meaningless drivel.

As it stands, we are evacuating the people of Rittersmarche and trying to get them to Havenhill. We travel with the Patriots and honestly would not be able to do this without them. They have turned out to be quite valuable.

I am enjoying the sailor more and more. He has even got some good quips in there at me which I always appreciate. It gets quite dull being the smartest one around all the time.

Kildare was able to Charm one of Turrosh's Chiefs which was really a brilliant move. He has let us know that an ambush is likely because Turrosh had planned for an inevitable retreat from Rittersmarche, and from what it sounds it will be alot. I have a couple charges left in my sword and I do not plan on letting them go to waste.

I feel I have gone off course in this entry, so let me bring it back to the point. Burton Thunderblood, you were a wonderful dwarf and an honorable dwarf. You will be missed and your passing only reminds us that we are one unfortunate incident from being removed from this plane. I hope you drink well with Moradin and continue to watch over your fellow Thunderbloods; myself included. We will continue to fight in your honor.