The Hours of The Day Go Round and Round

"So then I jumped off the top of the creatures mouth and lept straight into its gullet." I was at Valrym's Tavern, he was glowering at me from his position at the bar, but I was seated at a booth with Nidget and Andre and it was busy enough he could only just stare in dissapproval instead of being vocal about it.

"And you allowed this?" I had directed my question at Andre, he just shrugged his shoulders and continued drinking.

"So as I was saying, right down its throat I went!" Nidget and Andre had had a little trip of their own while I was out of town, I didn't share my story (partially because it dealt with Andre's church, partially because despite this lengthy journal sometimes I don't like telling people everything I do!)

"Sadly you appear to be no worse the wear." I finished my beer and Andre chuckled. Nidget gave me a nasty glare but continued on with his ridiculous story about slaying some kind of creature (as if you can kill something from the inside out...) As boring as the story turned out to be it was nice to be with people who talk with humor in their voice and who don't blatantly murder people without so much as looking at them twice (I mean we are all murderers don't get me wrong, we just aren't like Mordere). It was that return to normalcy that I appreciated.  Like everything else in my life things don't stay the same for a long time, and so I take what I can get before things go to shit again as they always do.

So I drank my beer and listened to Nidget's stories and thought if that night could go on for a couple weeks I'd appreciate it, but no things like that never happen.  Torture lasts forever, good times? They are but a leaf on the wind.

When The Ancient Comes Around

I'll admit this whole sleeping outside thing hadn't been working out for me recently.  I mean sure the coffee wake up with an assassin shoving a gun in my face was tolerable, but this getting drug into a cave to have my life force drained from me? Unacceptable. So needless to say before I drifted off to sleep I set up runes that would have stopped a god (well in theory I've never tested my runes versus a god yet). So it wasn't a big surprise that I was awoken by a creature that had tripped my rune.  It was a bit of a surprise when I saw the creature.

It was at first glance a woman.  Completely naked, though naked hear meaning wearing no clothes not that she had that many "womanly" features, there were the appearance of breasts but no female gentalia. Her "skin" was a bright green that was torn in some places revealing an oozing blackness behind it. She had no eyes or nose, but there was a mouth, her hair appeared to be some kind of twisted vines. From her labored breathing she looked to be dying, but not from my Runes.

"You killed us." The voice was like a whisper, which again spoke to the dying aspect her body showed.

"I did?" I admit I've killed a lot of things, so its not a huge surprise when people accuse me of having killed them, but I do get a bit mystified when things say that while they are still alive.

"You burned the body, you destroyed us, and we sought you for revenge, we have nothing left now, your trickery having hurt us again." The plant creature, or what remained of it, have to say that inside of it? Was a woman, very very creepy.

"You tried to kill me, I don't take kindly to that." I thumbed the leather strap holding my revolver in place off, I didn't know what was left of this creature after my rune had hurt it, but I wasn't taking any chances.
"We were ancient, you but a bug, no more than food for the form, food should not fight back against its master." I drew down and blasted her, black blood erupted from where the gun shots hit, a hissing sizzle filled my ears as the blood hit the ground and marked it. My horse now apparently just aware of there being something in our camp (useless creature) startled and let out a noise.

"Ancient creatures should learn to leave Trezlan Lorentino alone." The creature was dead but I had the line and I was going to use it damn it! I spit on the body. It oozed and the ground around it was becoming blackened and smelled foul the longer it decayed. Which made my decision for me about leaving early.  It wasn't like I wanted to stick around anyway.

And so my strange journey that started out by trying to help an assassin and ended up with me killing an ancient plant creature came to a close. I made Rosetia again with little trouble and I was very happy to see my shop had not burned down (there were some angry requests from patrons nailed to the door, but even those were welcomed).  I have to say I was glad my traveling was over for a bit, as I always am because it meant I could have some more time to screw up things locally!

Planted

I stumbled from the cave of reeking burning death into the cave of slightly less nasty smells (unfortunatley it was the only exit for the burning remains, so it too smelled awful). The cave was narrow and had a low ceiling but thankfully I was hunched over from being weak and trying to avoid the stench so I didn't hit my head on anything.  I was thinking at least I'd dealt with the plant creature stupidly until I exited the cave into a larger really wide open cave that had the bulk of it still (I should have known there was more of the damn thing since I hadn't seen the additional sucker helpers in my section of the cave, but I was tired and nautious from fumes!)

The creature was huge, just a large mulching cylinder of sucker tentacles and spikes.  I didn't see eyes, but as a plant I don't know if plants have eyes? I did see hundreds of dried out corpses lining the walls, tenatcles still sucking what little life they might have had left. Next to the creature itself was a sort of pit with a blackish fluid, in the fluid were bones that appeared to be in different states of decay.  Whatever else I could say of the creature it at least appeared to be thrifty with the bodies of its victims.

I thought for a moment I'd just let it go.  Let it keep mulching things and I'd move on with my life, but before I could even start on my way out of the stupid cave tentacles detached from dehydrated bodies and started to make their way towards me, which was not what I wanted. Ordinarily I'd just burn them, slice them, or run away from them (look I'll admit sometimes bit of a coward... I know you totally didn't ever see that before).  But instead I didn't have a fight or flight response, I had a "Oh crap oh crap oh crap" panic and stay in place response. Humoursly this lead to the tentacles all crashing into each other instead of attacking me (ha take that plant creature!). I took a guess and launched a small bit of fire (my super big display earlier on top of being weak put me way way to close to corruption town) at the pool of black goo underneath the plant and it ignited like the combustible fuel it had to have been (anything that can melt bone is most likely going to be flammable, most likely I mean there can always be some weird melty thing that is not susceptible to fire, but I doubt that).

The tentacles writhed in the burning agony and I made my way out of the huge cave as fast as my weakened body could carry me.  I realized someone in there might have still been alive and I just left them to die to smoke inhilation, but I've said multiple times I'm a terrible terrible person.  I did find my gear amongst a huge treasure trove of supplies near the mouth of the cave (from the looks of it the plant had been around a long time, I didn't take anything... that wasn't money I stole the crap out of the money). I was still pretty weak upon leaving the now smoking cave, but thankfully my horse had been left to graze there (probably for another meal for the plant creature at some point).  I mounted my steed and with considerable effort managed to leave the general area before finding a wooded area and passed out.  I still smelled awful, and felt worse, but I was alive and the plant creature was dead, well mostly... Look I have to leave you something to read tomorrow don't I?

The Putrid Smell of Victory

Covered in shit, struggling to get to my feet, and about to be swarmed by enemies.  That is my life in several nutshells. At least I had my sword that I could prop myself up with and I did, finding my footing I faced the mouth of the cave where the reinforcements would be coming. And come they did (no this is not meant as a sexy innuendo).  They were all grey skinned and partially clothed (and also had the marks on their foreheads from where they too were connected to things).

I tried to conjure fire and it worked, it worked too well actually.  See I put way too much effort into the fire because I felt I wouldn't be able to use it (because of the weakened state when I tried it when I was connected to the plant creature).  So instead of just an orb of flame, I projected a wall of flame that burned the floor in front of me (thus incinerating the shit and urine into a lovely cocktail of smells I call awful) it pulsed forward and incinerated the grey skins coming in from the cave. It also murdered the Caravan people (well they were pretty much dead anyway right... Look I said I freed them I didn't say they were still alive and if I did I plead liar err ignorance) and the plant growth with its tentacles.  Basically everything not me got burned to death in that small cave and the smell that lingered is best left to your nightmares.

So I dealt with my most immediate concern, killed some innocent people (well they were caravan people, so only partially innocent I'm sure they ripped off people all the time), and wounded a gigantic plant creature that was now more determined than ever to kill me.  I'd make the joke I make all the time about this being pretty standard for me, but you know even I tire of saying the same things... Also I think I said it yesterday.

In the Caves of Slightly Horrible Things

"Hrughk." The sword was buried up to its hilt in the former gate keepers chest, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the ground, dislodging my sword from his disgusting flesh and coating the ground with black blood. I know you are thinking you were tied up! To which I reply, I still had my sword and my enemy was an idiot who just charged at me.  I tell you if he didn't attack me in my sleep this entry would have been considerably shorter to begin with (to whit "Weird creepy grey skinned man came to assault me, killed him little trouble want something with potatos for dinner").

I was of course still suspended but with a slice I was free and I collapsed to the ground with a thump (always a thump never a whisper).  I felt how tired I really was, having exerted no actual ability the past moments I was struck by how difficult it was to just try and stand up (or indeed try and stand). I was also struck by the weird brain sucking monster not actively trying to attack me, indeed it kept mulching away at the caravan people while its sliced off tentacle had just shriveled up like a dead plant (because thats what it actually was, a freaking plant).

I did notice the floor was covered in feces and urine, which was nice not being able to get out of immediately (look people had been suspended who knows how long they have to go to the bathroom somehow). And so the struggle to get to my feet became a very necessary thing immediately (and to take a shower and clean my clothes thankfully I hadn't been suspended long enough to wet myself). It was during this struggle I heard it, a low whining noise that reverberated throughout the cave slow at first and then deafening.  I knew than the plant creature knew I'd killed its caretaker and whatever other defenses it had were about to find me.

And yet the first thing I could think of was getting out of shit, amazing how that works out isn't it?

Cut Off

I didn't know much at the time, I knew that I was dying.  I knew there was a pain in my head from what appeared to be a specific wound point, and I knew my magic was utterly useless (thanks magic way to fail me unlike all those other times you saved me from certain doom, YOU SUCK!).  I knew I had my sword, and figured it was still actually connected to me (I figured). So I drew my sword up and swung in the area of my head (because again I didn't feel I was just in my own mind, I knew somehow I could interact with "reality").

Immeadiately things changed, I wasn't in a rotting inn I was in a cave. I wasn't standing I had been suspended, and the pain in my head was some sort of tentacle that had been attached just above my right eye (the source of my pain, the sucker thing fell off after I sliced the tentacle connection).  In the cave I wasn't alone.  The members of the caravan were there, and they looked the same as they had in the "afterlife" they also had tentacles attached to their heads. The tentacles lead to a central growth in the cave, just a glob of green and tentacles that pulsated with disgusting pukish sounds.

I had been suspended at my waist with what appeared to be a rope, oddly my arms and legs were not restrained.  I guess because of the tentacle connection the creature wasn't worried I could get loose? My pistol and general camping supplies weren't there, but my sword was in my hand, I figured because the of the earth god connection to the sword (it seemed to repel ugly things under the earth crazily enough and yet Val seemed unaffected... YES IN YOUR FACE PERSON WHO DOESN'T READ THIS!)

The creepy thing was I knew the creature couldn't have put me there.  Because there was also a lit torch nearby and an exit from where I'd and most likely the caravan people had been brought. This was also confirmed when the Gatekeeper himself emerged.  His skin was sickly grey and he had a spot on his forehead where he himself had a tenatacle most likely recently attached (which spoke to some weird symbiotic relationship).

"YOU!!!!!!!!" When he opened his mouth it was full of gangly yellow teeth, what little of them were there. So I was in danger, I felt weak still, and I was suspended with a rope and my eyes hadn't yet really adjusted to the darkness (despite my descriptions I was hazy as all get out when I "woke" up).  Needless to say it looked like my day was about to suck worse than it had been, despite it looking awful to begin with! So a normal Lorentino situation.

DickKeeper

"This is not the afterlife!" I tried to make it as loud a pronouncement as I could, but my voice was failing me, it came out like a meek child asking a parent for extra food. The gatekeeper's appearence looked off, where he once was clean and gentlemanly looking, now he looked vicious and his suit tattered.

"Oh figured that out did you? My my Mr. Lorentino I guess you aren't half as idiotic as I thought." His voice twisted taking on a deeper tone.

"I'll kill you." My voice cracked, the pain in my head escalated, I gathered up what magic power I could but it sputtered the flames just sparks like if I'd struck a rock against a flint.

"No you won't, in fact you'll know exactly what the afterlife is like shortly, and how does that feel Lorentino? To know soon enough you'll be amongst the dead? Those fools out there I'm draining them slowly so slowly they hardly notice, but you? You I'm taking fast, I want your life." He came around the desk and the entire cozy cottage theme was falling apart, it had aged a hundred years automatically, everything was rotten and falling apart. I attempted to strike the now deforming gate keeper but he disappeared in a puff.

"You bastard."

"Such a fool Lorentino, enjoy the rest of your life all few minutes of it you have." The voice boomed in my head along with the pain.  So there I was being drained of my life, stuck in some kind of meta dream world hell, and my head felt like eight pounds of pain.  How did I survive? Well you'll just have to read the next entry!

Ain't that a Pain in the Head

As things progressed in the "afterlife" the pain in my head escalated.  At first it was a dull pain, like when your eyes get tired and you should stop looking at whatever you are but you just can't. Then it escalated, to that pain you have when you get hit in the head like with a hilt of a sword or the butt of a pistol (and if you don't know that pain, be thankful).  I was better than the caravan people, they were mostly out of it from the pain, crippled and laying about. Whatever this was it wasn't the afterlife, that gate keeper was a liar.

I knew that, but then again there something preventing me from really thinking too hard on it.  On top of the pain I could feel something asserting itself in my head.  And it was getting stronger with the pain, I could feel physical weakness settling in on me.  Like upon waking up I felt strong, but having walked around a little bit my body had been weakened. Focussing on it was getting harder and harder though.

So I knew I was in trouble, I wasn't actually in the afterlife, but I'd be there shortly if I didn't do something fast, but I didn't know what I could do.  I feared my normal method of just hurting myself because I didn't believe I was in my own mind so much as not seeing the world as I really should be. All in all it wasn't fun times!

Afterlife? More like Boringlife

"So who are you?" I realize it seems like I was standing in that opening room for hours, but in reality it was just a few minutes I just like dragging things out.

"I'm the gate keeper."

"You aren't standing in front of a gate? That's an odd statement." He wasn't and it totally was.

"This entire place is a gate, you are not yet in the afterlife, this is the way station on the way."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Not for me to say Mr. Lorentino, you will have to find that out when you move on from here."

"Well that's delightfully vague, so whats outside of this door? Eternal damntation?" I opened the door and it was just a village, the kind of village that hasn't existed in the real world for hundreds of years, there were people in it, though they all looked like used up flesh husks sunken eyes and all.

"Or a village full of people who look like their last meal was a year ago."

"Those are the other people currently awaiting the afterlife." They looked horrible, I mean I've seen ugly before these people looked worse.

"They were a caravan that got stuck in the mountains they turned to canibilism but as you can see it did not work."

"Well thats pretty horrible." I say this as a person who does the spiritual equivilent of cannibilism. I walked outside, the gate keeper said something behind me but I cared not for whatever garbage he was spewing. The weather was non existant, as in it wasn't cold, it wasn't hot, it wasn't anything. The sky was just a white space of nothingness.  I approached one of the caravan people but he murmured and said nothing.  It seemed pretty awful to die horribly and then get stuck in that horrible existence in the afterlife (like whats the point of dying if you still suffer? Which again should have been another indicator something bad was going on). The only thing the shambling corpses of the caravan could tell me really was how much their heads hurt, and I could symapthize because my head was killing me.  The gatekeeper tried to make it seem like it was from the gunshot, but why would people who died from eating each other A. Look so gaunt and B. Suffer from the same headaches.

So I was slowly catching on things were not as they appeared. Which was better than those idiotic caravan people! If I hadn't done anything they'd well probably all be dead, in fact they might actually be dead now because they are that stupid.  I tell you the children of this world are very good at dying, its like their one skill in life.

Dead Again Again Again?

"Where Am I?"

"You're dead Mr. Lorentino." It was kind of a shocking thing to hear, I mean it made more sense than other things, but still to hear I'd died without even being aware of that death? Disheartening (I'd always figured I'd go out with my bones snapping in a creatures mouth not in my sleep).

"How?" It was a good question I was not physically old and I felt no ill health other than a piercing pain in my head (so even dead I can't catch a break).

"Your associate Mr. Mordere figured you would be a danger to him after the fact and he killed you while you slept, shot you in the head if I'm not mistaken." So that explained the head wound, well it didn't actually but that was the lie I was being told to make up for the wound (more on what is really going on as this whole story plays out, yes I wasn't actually dead, no you probbaly can't guess what is really going on... STOP TRYING YOU JERK!) It all made sense, well as much as being told you'd just been killed by someone you thought was sort of an ally and then wound up in some kind of bed and breakfast of the dead makes sense.

Look you guys need to understand my life is one big cosmic joke and I'm the punchline. That's what I'm saying.

Sometimes Even I am Left Speechless

You know there are some things you can expect when you wake up from sleeping in the wild (aside from assassins with guns pointed at you and coffee brewing I assure you this a rare occurence), you do not expect to wake up in a bed.  Yes I went to sleep in the wild and woke up in a bed, I had been tucked in, my cloak hung up on a nearby rack and my shoes placed beside (gun belt and sword hung from the same rack my cloak did). I also felt like I'd taken a bath that I don't recall taking (there's a distinct feeling of clean that I felt). I got dressed, and opened the door.

I was in some kind of bed and breakfast from a place I don't ever remember visiting.  I actually had to resist the urge to stab myself because I was sure I was dreaming.  Like the walls were lined with pleasant wall paintings of meadows and other places.  The wood was that kind of inviting golden hued type.  I could see doors marked for other travelers though I didn't hear any others. I was on the second floor and as I made my way down a nice man in a suit sat at the registers desk.

"Good morning Mr. Lorentino its pleasant to see you again." He had a wide smile and normal hue to his face. His clothing was well maintained and fit him properly.  He was overly tall, but not monstorously so.  I was so dumbfounded by his greeting I didn't even know where to begin, so I didn't I just sat there wordlessly wondering where in the gods I was and what happened to the horrible reality I had just been a part of.

And So It Went

I'd like to say the shootout on the remains of a burning tavern with smoke in my eyes was a heroic moment where I showed my true metal next to a master.  I'd like to say that, but it wasn't true.  I know you probably think I lie about everything in here, but since this story involves an unrepetent murderer who just the other day killed a man in the street outside of my shop without a second thought, well truth is paramount.

All of this is to say that Mordere killed twenty men before I even got my revolver out of my holster.  Not even kidding, he unloaded three seperate revolvers and the sins sent to kill him were dead.  That's what he does folks, he's a murderer stone cold. Green eyes was gut shot and missing a hand, from what I could see he was the only one able to talk (because despite the men being "killed" it takes a bit of time to die).  Mordere walked calmly over to him while reloading the hand of the Fire God.

"You are damned." Green eyes seemed to think that would phase Mordere, which told me he knew less of the guy than I did.

"No, but you are dead." Bang that was it, not a huge reveal as to why these people were after him, what this internal thing was all about, just a simple rebuttal and a gunshot.  I can not stress to you enough how much Mordere scares me, AND I HAVE FACED DOWN DARK GODS!  Which also scare me.

He didn't talk to me, didn't offer a thanks or anything. Just rifled through the pockets of the dead, took some bullets, some coins and a couple trinket or two and left (he had his horse tied up to a tree a bit away from the tavern, mine was wandering around outside). And so ended my limited experience with the Sins of The Fire God. I'd come to find out later that look Mordere was right I didn't care and I don't even remember.  Just remember that uhh don't mess with someone who literally kills people for a living.  So Yeah.  Read tomorrows entry for how I got stuck in a town of the damned.

Yeah that also happened and yes this is like the 8th time that's happened to me. I swear its like everytime around this time of year something horrificly ghoulish happens to me. Weird right?

Taverning Inferno

"Well I'm not sitting down here waiting to die." Mordere appeared to want to wait until they ran out of bullets, I was not going to do that! Because that was stupid and I really didn't want to die thinking "They have to be almost out". No I'd much rather die stupidly because of something I did (even though I did this as well... Look shut up).  I gathered my power in a fist and threw it upward, the fire exploded in a shower and instantly ignited the decaying roof (which appeared to be basically straw, so yeah that was yeah).  That didn't stop the shooting mind you, just the roof was not on fire.

"Yes this is definately a solution to the shooting problem, now we can burn alive, a true sacrifice to the fire god." Honestly no idea if he was joking or not.

"Come on we are leaving." I blew out the back wall with another burst of fire (well that and the weight of a burning roof, look you'll have to just accept my description since Mordere will never write a journal of his own and if he did it would just be like "Killed someone today with a gun, and some bullets, also stabbed a guy, yes.") We ran out of the burning tavern as bullets hit all around (that was one positive of the fire they couldn't get a bead on us through the smoke and fire. We left just in time as the building collapsed behind us. Fortunately this also meant that the fire and smoke obscured that we survived.  Unfortunately Mordere's numbers were a bit off, there weren't twelve guys against us, there were twenty.

"There are twenty of them."

"How can you even see them?" I'll admit I was taken a back that he couldn't see through all the smoke and fire the twenty guys on the other side, but then again having lived as long as I have and done a lot of bad things... Well I figure somewhere along the line I picked up a talent for looking through destruction.

"Nevermind that, what are we going to do?" If he was a normal person he'd have laughed, but Mordere as I've said, is not a normal person.

"Kill them." And back towards the burning wreck of the tavern he went. And I followed after.

Ok Bad Plan, My Bad

They opened fire immediately. Oh hi by the way.  But yes they opened fire shortly after I said I had Mordere at gun point. I hit the floor as the bullets ripped apart where I'd been standing moments before.  Mordere was on the ground as well counting from the look of it (I could see him from the bar since the bullets were eliminating it slowly).

"Ok so I didn't expect this."

"They were here to kill me, you called out your position and since you said you had me at gunpoint."

"It implies you were standing right next to me."

"So they opened fire on the position."

"Ok so that was a bad plan."

"Well they are firing all of their bullets, so thats at least something."

"Why don't they just aim down that's where we clearly are." The bullets had turned the walls of the tavern into more swiss cheese, I started to worry about the structural integrity of the building.

"Shout that out to them Trezlan I'm sure it'll work out great for us, just like your previous plan." It was the closest thing to a joke Mordere ever told. So there we were a hail of bullets cutting the Tavern to pieces, what could possibly get worse? Oh I dunno setting the building on fire... Yeah that happened...

Internal Dickatics

"So is there a reason you're own people are trying to kill you?" I was ducked down behind the bar, the wood was old and rotted and I doubt it would stop one bullet, the dead tavern keeper next to me kind of confirmed that belief. Mordere for his part was out in the open casually leaning against the bar reloading the god hand.

"I could tell you, but it would be a waste of time, you will just acknowledge you heard me, make some pithy comment about how this is just like whatever and then neither one of us will get anything out of it."  Have I mentioned Mordere talks weird? I don't mean like in a funny voice or something, I mean completely devoid of emotion to the point of oddity.  Like reading that it sounds like he was being sarcastic, but he really wasn't, there is zero emotion to anything he ever says, I swear he never learned to emote.

"True, but how do you know all that."

"Because I read your file the Followers have on you, its exhaustive, I'd recommend you burn it, but doing so would be sacrilege and I'd kill you." Mordere is also like that, offering you insight and then telling you if you act on it, he'll eliminate you without a second thought.

"MORDERE!" Green eyes had apparently gotten tired of waiting for us to talk things out.

"Does he always shout like that?"

"When he's trying to get me to say something back so he can shoot me from the outside? Yes."

"How many do you think are out there."

"No more than twelve, I doubt he could get any other sins to follow his crusade, but I'm up to being surprised."

"I'VE GOT HIM AT GUNPOINT COME ON IN!" I shouted and Mordere looked at me with well nothing THE GUY HAS NO EMOTIONS.

"I'm to assume this is a plan."

"Yes its a brilliant plan."

"Yeah that's what worries me." He didn't look worried, but then again he didn't know my plan!

Shoot Out at the Hole in the Wall

"Down." I dropped to the floor (which was dirty, so so dirty) and Valerind's revolver did the talking, where nine men stood bullets followed and death racked up (he had 8 shots but killed nine guys, I'd say that's pretty amazing but I dunno maybe he just scared the last guy to death).

"Well that was quick." The gun again fired real bullets and he reloaded it like a normal pistol, it seemed weird to see the hand of the fire god used so boringly! I mean it can fire a god bullet! Though I'll admit almost having it take your damn arm off can make you leary of the god bullet.

"Its not over, these were the first guys." I noticed that they had gotten shots off, the tavern keeper and his one drunken patron lay dead on the floor.

"The first guys?"

"YOU IN THERE MORDERE? ARE YOU READY TO DIE?" It was green eyes I could tell from the shout.

"Yeah first guys, typical cannon fodder type moment make me spend a limited resource and then they close in for the kill, don't you understand basic unit tactics?"

"Sorry missed that day at Necromancer school." There is no necromancer school, just thought I'd be clear on that as I've made this joke in the past and people don't understand it.  So there I was surrounded in a tavern with nothing to really drink and an Assassin who didn't need me to warn him.  All in all it was a pretty normal day for me.  Also side note, roasting cannibals alive is really ironic but horrible because they like to remark on how they smell as they die! I know trust me I was creeped out as well.

The Trouble With Sin

Normally I don't have any problem finding sins! I mean that in the sense of doing things that are morally dubious (though I guess in the case of looking for someone who literally kills people for money, that is also very morally dubious). But I struggled to even get a bead on Mordere at all.  I mean the man is apparently for hire, but no one knew how! I mean I had to be careful because I didn't want the followers of fire coming after me, and as my past experience has shown, hunting down assassins has lead to me getting screwed (this is was no different sadly).

Still! I wanted to warn the guy and I could not get a line on him at all.  I even had to leave town (again thus costing myself more damn business which is sadly normal). Eventually I found myself to a tavern in the middle of nowhere with two customers and a bartender with a lazy eye.  Fortunately for me one of the customers was Mordere.

"It was a set up Mordere they were testing you." He chuckled.  The tavern we were in was barely a building, I could see multiple holes in the wood you could see the outside from, they appeared to be bullet holes.

"I know." The bar itself was rotted wood and the bottles behind the tender mostly empty except for fluid that looked not at all appetizing. Suddenly there were hooded figures in the tavern, red hooded figures.

"And I just lead them to you."

"Yep."

"Shit."

Everything Is About Me

"Subtle Mr. Lorentino." There were four of them, all dressed in cloaks the impression of weaponry being aimed at me was not lost on me.

"I'm Zoltar." I looked around no one else in the Tavern except me and the cloaks, they were a deep red, which told me where they came from more so than anything else.  Their leader was a distinguished sort, greying hair at the temples, wrinkles in the right places to show he was older, but not enough to give the impression he was ancient.  He had green eyes that almost glowed, kind of creepy actually.  His accomplices were hooded so I couldn't make out their faces, which I'm sure was intended.

"Right Zoltar of course, and that ridiculous hair piece, I have to wonder did you buy that or skin it from an animal?"

"Yes." I did buy it, you know how I kill things in the wild, there isn't enough left to fill a cup! The leader smiled, it was not a warm smile.

"So you probably want to know why we want to kill you? And I hope you aren't counting on the demigod showing up.  Yes we know about him, and yes we detained him, its how we knew you were here." This is of course where I knew I was boned.

"Well it would help if I was Trezlan Lorentino, so when I find him I'll tell him what you told me."

"We didn't say your first name Trezlan."

"Crap." Fooled so easily, I swear I'm not very good at this lying thing despite being a huge liar (except to you journal I'd never lie to you!).

"You have nothing to fear from us Trezlan, you were merely a loyalty trap for Mordere, he failed.  We have no reason to kill you, for now anyway." I felt used and relieved, so like dating a woman ZING!

"I can go home?"

"Please do, on the way take a shower or something you reek of filth." His lip curled as he left the three men followed behind him.

"What about Mordere?"

"What about him?" The leader's tone was dismissive.

"Are you going to kill him?"

"None of your concern and I'd recommend for you to stay out of it lest you actually be marked a heretic for death." They left and a short time later Valrym returned to warn me (after they let him go, apparently he didn't put two and two together why they let him go).  I returned to my shop a bit angry I had been hiding out for someone elses power play, but I was also determined to warn Mordere.  I mean he had warned me it was the least I could do, despite that actually being something that could put me in danger, what can I say, I'm a sucker!

Call me Zoltar

"Trezlan."

"Call me Zoltar."

Valrym sighed, I had been back in town for a couple days though obviously avoiding going to my shop overtly, or at least what I hoped was overtly.  "Zoltar," He shook his head at the name, "What are you doing?"

"Hiding." I had on a wig and I shaved my beard, I am a true master of disguise.

"From?"

"The Followers of Fire, or anyone who may try and kill me because of them."

"What did you do to piss them off?" It was morning, I had been staying at Valrym's tavern for a few days, this was his first attempt to talk to me, no one else was around.

"I don't know! I've been labeled a heretic and I haven't even done anything for them or two them for like a hundred years Val!" He sighed again.

"It makes me sad thats not an exageration necromancer."

"Look could you help me out here?"

"And what do you think I can do?"

"FIND OUT WHY THEY WANT TO KILL ME!"

"Shouldn't that be your job?"

"Well yeah, but you know in trying to find out they'll try and kill me!"

"Well if gets you out of my tavern faster tre err Zoltar, fine fine I'll find out why they are trying to kill you."

"You are a great friend."

"Don't say that I already feel queasy helping you again." And with that Valrym left me to seek out why people were trying to kill me.  Thinking back on it it was kind of funny to send the avatar of the earth god who had been basically killed to the Followers of Fire to figure out why they wanted to kill me. I need to remember these bits of hilarity more often, it does me good on the eve of being eaten by CANNIBAL SOMEONE SAVE TREZLAN!

Heretic? But I'm Bald

Religions tend to want to murder a lot of people.  Well religions in this world, perhaps journal reader wherever you are from they are really nice groups of people who only want the best for everyone.  In my world? Bloody murderers, even the Black Path which in theory preaches peace and helping others has passages encouraging the murder of undesireables (depending on who you speak to this doesn't exist, but it totally does).

So with that in mind it wasn't a surprise the Followers of Fire wanted me dead.  Well it still kind of was, I mean I'd done so much for their religion (sometimes even on purpose). And I'm a fire magic user! I'm like everything they should seek to be in life! Also it kind of sucks that of all the religions to be pursuing my death, it just had to be the one that believes in martial conflict as their greatest joy in life.  Because I so love fighting. Needless to say I was leary of returning home, not only was their a sizeable church in town, but Nidget's bodyguard Andre was a true blue believer and if his group said I was to die I knew he'd try and kill me, or have Nidget do it.

So yeah that old saying you can never go home? It was totally true especially if someone is trying to kill you where you live! Also I'm no longer hanging upside down in case you were worried little journal. No now I'm currently in a cage awaiting being eaten by cannibals, whats that old saying off the rope and into the cannibal's stomach? Yes I know thats not a normal saying... IT TOTALLY IS NOW!

Load Off My Mind

"Do you ever wonder if you should say morning without a gun drawn on someone?" He was drinking coffee with one hand and holding the gun steady with the other, it was the fire god's weapon, though like I previously stated he seemed to load it normally, so if it still maintained its special properties he didn't acknowledge that.

"Nope, people tend to do stupid things when you surprise them, even if you don't intend on killing them, you have to be careful." I could see the hammer was back, apparently careful meant killing even for someone you didn't mean to kill.

"So what can I do for you Mr. Mordere?"

"Well I'm pleased you are aware of me, probably from your shorty friend on the train, yes I remember a lot of things." He touched the scar on his face, it looked particularly unpleasant, as did the dead eye that went with it, "This is not a social call though Mr. Lorentino, someone is trying to kill you."

"Someone is always trying to kill me, your words of caution are noted, you could have just sent a letter." Its really true, I mean to be honest I had just finished dealing with something trying to kill me, this one is no different.

He uncocked his pistol and holstered it in the shoulder clutch, "Well I warned you, that's all I can really do here."

"And its appreciated, but how did you know that someone is trying to kill me? More importantly why warn me? Aren't you a hired killer."

"Yes I am, and I know because they tried to hire me to do it, but the Fire God recognizes your accomplishments Necromancer and for now she is pleased with you and so you stay on the side of righteousness, for now."

"You mean your church still thinks highly of me?"

He chuckled, "No they are the ones who want you dead, take care Mr. Lorentino." He left the coffee (it was my own anyway so its not like he was being nice making my own coffee and letting me drink it!) and mounted his horse and was gone.  Mordere was like that he's a man of few words and most of them are awful (like for instance telling me a church hiearchy wants me dead), he also is a bit crazy/not so crazy.  You see he talks to the Fire God, or claims he does.  Now I know he has an artifact of hers, so she may be speaking to him directly, BUT I also know he's a devoted person who believes he's a prophet of a God I'm not aware taking a prophet.  So you know 50/50 if he's crazy or he really talks to a God.

On a personal note, hanging upside down sucks. Especially doing it for two days in a row, the most obnoxious thing is this water droplet keeps hitting me right in the nose.  If I wasn't so sure this is just unlucky I'd swear this whole thing was planned specifically to annoy me.

The Necromancer and the Sin

I hate sleeping away from home. I hate sleeping outside, I've mentioned this several times I know, but I still hate doing it (to this damn day).  You never get a good sleep because something is always sticking you in the back, you wake up with an odd taste in your mouth everytime, and the potential for beign ambushed is high every time (I put down runes and try and sleep with one eye open, but it never works if someone wants to get you they'll get you). Needless to say when I woke up after having traveled a bit from the archivist I was surprised to smell coffee and Mordere the Sin who Nidget feared was staring me down with a pistol and a smile.

"Morning." And he was right, it was a morning, I'm glad he didn't specificy either direction on what kind of morning it was about to be, because as it turns out, it went both ways as things happen to do.  Yes this is a small entry, kind of hanging up side down right now while writing this, no not from what Mordere wanted this is a completely different calamity I got myself into, yeah my life is great like that.

Ghost Vault

"And here it is." I was in the archivist's huge cave.  It had been a long time since I'd been there but like most things it appeared nothing had really changed other than of course all the new information stashed away in different places.

"Oh just what I always wanted a murderous spirit not of this world." He smiled, I think? I dunno its hard to tell when someones features drift in and out of visual planes.

"Well you were the only person I could think of that could keep it safe, though I do have one question."

"Only one? Go ahead Mr. Lorentino."

"Why was this a reward? Seems more like a punishment."

"The game Nidget participated in is a collection of oddities to say the least, the society that runs it full of people who find objects like this box and its passenger intriguing, so to them this was a great reward, a trophy of trophies, the man Nidget killed was a cursed object hunter, and this his grand prize." He had moved the box and put it on a shelf next to a jar of ooze and someones preserved hand.

"Great so we should have just let him have the box?"

"Nah he was hunting the objects to destroy the world, not that it would have, but you never know, people are weird as you well know." The way he said people sounded odd, but I guess as a ghostly archiver of all things I guess he takes a different look at people.

"So what do I owe you?" We both said it at the same time and it lead to a chuckle.

"You know me Mr. Lorentino no payment, and for such a gift I can't think of anything I could give you in return, well maybe something about Morley." The name made my blood hot, it had been years since his betrayal but I still wanted to kill him, painfully.

"Probably for the best I don't know anything about him, don't need another quest for vengeance so soon after settling in."

"He came to see me after the fall, wanted everything I had on you, furious you had caused it."

"And what did he offer in return?"

"Nothing I wanted, I know you think of me as neutral, but I am not, and Morley will kill us all if he's not tempered, all I gave him was Hanlon, because as you well know Hanlon is not of this world and its a fruitless quest to destroy him, but at the very least it'll leave you be for a bit."

"Thanks for that."

"You're welcome Mr. Lorentino, don't be a stranger! I think you're the most interesting person in my archives, and the one I still don't know how to classify."

"Well I hope to keep it that way for the time being at least." I left and he dissappeared as he does.  He did tell me something invaluable, that Hanlon was really not a person, and Morley was trying to kill him, it was enough to make me laugh, I mean at least Morley wasn't going to be bugging me for a bit, and that's a plus anyway you look at it!