OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD

Well trying to earn some money and do what is right has turned out to be a lot more complicated than I had expected it to. After finishing up my first posting I was on my own for a while. I met up with a big, smelly, but nice enough, guy named Sampson. We took on a few odd jobs to earn some coin, while we were playing body guard for to oafs we ran into something awful.

A group of adventurers came along after some disagreements were resolved we ended up going with them to a remote tower to better protect our clients. That evening we were attacked by some sort of nasty undead rats and some scary snake like things. I felt right away that I should do whatever I could to prevent undead from attacking the living. Undead cringe in the glory of the sun and I knew it was my duty to fight them and any who would use them for their own purposes.

Even though the group is a bit, well, odd. The one that claims to be the princess certainly has connections and she treats her poor companion more like a pet than a person so I guess she could be a princess. The poor girl is some sort of pure innocent – unaware of how shamefully she is being used. The sailor seems decent enough, just a man out earning some coin I'd guess. The pretend pirate with airs of superiority, I guess you would call him, is selfish and vain. I suspect he would probably steal everything in site if he thought he could get away with it and might try for something that made him look good even if it was risky. The witch is a bit scary – the first night I met her she really let loose on the pirate so I think I'll just stay out of her way a bit. The really creepy one is the rat-man. Ugh – those guys are ugly up close. The mage is awfully quiet – I don't know much about her. At least there is a Paladin in the group – I feel confident that she would not be involved with a group if there was anything bad about them.

Well, we quickly learned that a stone golem had carried some boxes around the city that later turned out to have more undead in them. I'm glad I didn't meet the mummy – I heard it was a terrifying battle. So off we went. Did I ever mention that I don't like the sea? I know it's a bit odd for someone who lives on an island but my family has always been more involved with the land than the sea – someone has to produce all the things that get shipped.

The sea voyage to the island of the mage creator of the golems was pretty awful. We got caught in a storm – I was doing OK until everyone else in the cabin started loosing their lunches. The smell was all it took for me and up came all my insides too. Ouuugh! The stench and the mess was horrible. I don't think I've ever been so glad to make land fall and spend some time cleaning up.

The locals on the island were pretty wonderful. We ate dinner at a local house and enjoyed telling stories with each other. The next morning we started off to see the wizard. The locals cautioned us about the Ass-weres on the island and that there may be other creatures. I really wish they had been a bit more … well descriptive of the other creatures.

Shortly after starting off we ran into some sort of nasty plant. It whipped long tentacles around trying to grab us. Fortunately they didn't move very well and we were able to rip them apart from a distance. A few hours later we had a horrible experience. A horde of huge, ugly, nasty clicking bugs jumped out of a tree at us. They were horrible one of them jumped right on me and started burrowing in. There was blood, my blood, everywhere and I couldn't pull the damn thing off! I'm still shivering and weak from the bite that nasty thing gave me. Fortunately, with some help I was able to get free from it and they do make a satisfying squish when you land your mace just right.

Next we came to a river without any obvious way across. The current was a bit swift but the barbarian and the sailor thought we could make it across with some ropes. Good thing too since it turned out that the river was full of nasty little fish with a taste for flesh. Sampson jumped most of the way across the river with a rope and tied it onto something there. The rat guy ran right across next and the witch did some magic that just let her stroll across the river. I tried crossing on the ropes, as I got part way across the stupid things came undone and I was plunged into the water. I was terrified again – I could hardly swim with my armor still on and the current wasn't helping me any. I thrashed as well as I could towards the far shore but soon felt the sharp bites from the scaly fish. Blood, my blood, was filling the water around me and the nasty creatures were increasing in fury when Sampson helped me onto the bank of the river. I collapsed there almost un-willing to go any further into the wilderness. If there had been a way back to the village without crossing that river again I'd have taken it right then.

The rest of the group was able to cross the river without incident. We walked a bit further and set up camp for the evening. Hopefully we'll have some time to rest and nourish ourselves around the camp fire this evening. I feel like I'm learning a lot. One thing I've learned is that I really don't like the look of blood, my blood that is, it's not so bad to heal someone else that is hurt but I hate seeing my own. Another thing I've learned for sure is that the wilderness is not much fun. Looking out into the gathering gloom tonight I can hear sounds I can't place. I hope they are harmless fuzzy creatures that are supposed to be more scared of me than I am of them but with the horrible beasts I've met today I'm not so sure of that saying any more.

I'd like to learn some more about my traveling companions as well. I know I have been led to them to fight the evil we encountered but I'm not so certain why the others are here.