T<\/span><\/p>\n ien is dizzyingly complicated. The written form has thousands of pictographs and the spoken language is tonal. I\u2019ve gotten started with some introductory lessons here over the past couple of days, and picked up some books for self-study, but this is not going to be an easy process. Fortunately, I\u2019ll be spending the next month on a long and likely dull caravan journey with a native speaker.<\/span><\/p>\n I<\/span><\/p>\n checked in with Sandru and the caravan preparations are complete. The last of the wagon upgrades was being finished while I was there, and the provisions have probably been loaded by now. We\u2019ll be leaving at dawn tomorrow morning.<\/span><\/p>\n I first got to know Sandru when he was working as a caravan guard back in the early 4700\u2019s. Dad used caravans a lot for transporting goods between Sandpoint and nearby settlements, and I watched too many to count load and unload at the warehouse. Most of the caravan guards tended to be gruff and not very sociable, assuming that they even had anything intelligent to say, but Sandru was the exception. It may have been in part because he grew up here, but I think it was mostly just Sandru: he likes people, he likes to talk to people, and he\u2019s genuinely friendly. What I remember the most about him, though, is that he talked to me more or less like an adult. A lot of people talk down to children. Sandru just wasn\u2019t like that.<\/span><\/p>\n Sandru wants nothing to do with his family’s ties to the Sczarni, and tends to keep away from Sandpoint except for business. His older brother, Jubrayl, is the local Sczarni leader. I can see how that might put a strain on family relations.<\/span><\/p>\n Staying away probably makes that easier.<\/span><\/p>\n When Ameiko ran off that second time to pursue an adventurer\u2019s life, Sandru was part of the group. Neither of them talked about what happened out there when they came back a year later, and he disappeared for a while after that. In a way, they both did: Ameiko retreated into herself and threw up walls while Sandru was more literal about it. In time, he came back to Sandpoint, this time as the owner of his own caravan. Mom and dad actually used his service a lot in that time\u2014I think they still do, in fact\u2014as he kept fairly close to Sandpoint, Magnimar, and Riddleport, and they already knew and trusted him.<\/span><\/p>\n Mom gets a kick out of flirting with him and basically making him uncomfortable, which is just one of those things mom does sometimes. I\u2019ve often wondered if it bothers dad. I brought this up to him once a couple of years ago, and he said, \u201cI trust your mother completely.\u201d Which was not the question I asked, but I guess it\u2019s the answer to the one that matters. The last time we were in Korvosa was several years ago, and I asked grandma about what mom was like before she and dad met. She said mom was a pretty heavy flirt back then, but she intimidated boys. Like, a lot. Even the ones she liked. She chuckled and said, \u201cYour dad was perhaps the only one that wasn\u2019t scared of her.\u201d Maybe that\u2019s why he doesn\u2019t worry.<\/span><\/p>\n I saw Qatana this morning as she was getting in from Magnimar. She seemed disappointed that we hadn\u2019t traveled together. It should have occurred to me to ask.<\/span><\/p>\n W<\/span><\/p>\n e encountered a small band of ogres just a few hours outside of Rod\u2019s Cove. Sandru was very concerned. Ogres are not common in this part of Varisia, much less in groups working together to ambush travelers. We spread the word once we got into town to be on alert for others, just in case it wasn\u2019t an isolated event.<\/span><\/p>\n Our archers circled around behind them while the rest of us stayed with the wagons, with Nihali acting as a crude means of communication between the two groups. Once the scouts were in position, they let her know, and I could feel her excitement. I relayed this to Sandru and Qatana, and they moved the caravan into the ambush.<\/span><\/p>\n Qatana was seated in the lead wagon. She lit one of the sky rockets, aimed it at the ogres\u2019 position, and let it go. The explosion spoiled their surprise, but left us with several angry, injured ogres still intent on attack. Olmas charged them on his horse and ended up facing them alone without close support. He was badly hurt before help reached him, but he survived.<\/span><\/p>\n I bring this up in detail because I felt almost useless once the fighting started. Eventually, I was close enough to toss one of those little acid darts, but overall I felt so limited. And, to be honest, I am a little shaken after having had a lethal exchange with a living creature, even under these circumstances. (I\u2019ve carried a crossbow for years, but I\u2019ve never shot at a living target with it, either.) It was one thing to do this to skeletons, and another when it was flesh, blood, and bone\u2014ogre or not. But I couldn\u2019t get close enough, fast enough, to use something else.<\/span><\/p>\n This sounds ridiculous after writing it out. I just don\u2019t know how to explain the feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n We tracked the ogres back to their temporary campsite. They\u2019ve been out here a while, it seems, raiding who-knows-what. We found an eclectic assortment of money and valuables which can be used to fund the third supply wagon once we reach Riddleport.<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, we are profiting off the misfortune of so many others.<\/span><\/p>\n Something else I\u2019ll have to come to terms with, it seems.<\/span><\/p>\n A<\/span><\/p>\n meiko is currently sleeping in the covered wagon and we don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong. Koya is looking after her as best she can.<\/span><\/p>\n We stopped briefly for lunch and I noticed that she was looking a little off. In Tien\u2014we\u2019ve been practicing daily, and I\u2019ve asked her to only speak with me in Tien so that I can learn\u2014I asked if she was feeling ill, but she answered in common because some of the others had also noticed and appeared concerned.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine! Just a little tired this morning, is all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She turned to finish cleaning up the mess area of our encampment, took a couple of steps, and collapsed.<\/span><\/p>\n No one knows what is wrong. There are suspicions that it\u2019s a magically induced sleep of some sort, and may be related to Brinewall, but it\u2019s all just speculation. What we do know is that her condition isn\u2019t worsening, but it\u2019s not improving, either. For now, we\u2019ve decided to press on and monitor her. If something changes, we can always turn back.<\/span><\/p>\n I<\/span><\/p>\n am staying the night next to Ameiko. Earlier this evening she started talking in her sleep, only speaking in Tien. Koya had someone come and get me, but by the time I climbed into the wagon she had stopped. Koya agreed to let me stay with her, just in case she speaks again. It turns out that this was a wise decision because it happened two more times after that.<\/span><\/p>\n My Tien is still not great and her wording has been cryptic if not outright archaic. I can\u2019t realistically use a spell because the incidents are too short and too far apart, so instead I have been writing down what she says phonetically and translating it after the fact as best as I can. This is what she said tonight:<\/span><\/p>\n Beware the birds that wish to fly but cannot.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n One treasure beyond two seals in the third vault.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ameiko has never, to my knowledge, spoken in riddles like this. More support for the theory that what is happening to her has something to do with where we are headed.<\/span><\/p>\n A<\/span><\/p>\n meiko spoke again today. I almost missed it.<\/span><\/p>\n Beware the cuckolded cuckoo. It is in his shattered, silent love you should seek aide.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n My translation is a bit speculative there, but as I said yesterday Ameiko\u2019s word choice has been unusual. There is no direct translation for the Tien, but it appeared to be a play on words of some sort between a terrestrial bird and one who had been cheated on by a mate or lover. The second part is ambiguous as well, and I don\u2019t know if \u201clove\u201d is intended to mean an emotion or a person. That would mean the difference between seeking out \u201chim\u201d, and seeking out his lover. Since we are told to \u201cbeware\u201d him, I am assuming the latter.<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span>oday’s clue is:<\/p>\n The key you seek lies in the grip of the ten-handed one. His fear is your greatest ally.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There are demons with many arms and hands. But what would a demon fear?<\/p>\n A<\/span>meiko spoke again this morning.<\/p>\n Grandfather waits in the dark, but he knows not who he was.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We are all in agreement on this one: Rokuro has been turned into an undead. Possibly a kind that retains its will.<\/span><\/p>\n Ameiko has now gone several days without food or water, yet her physical condition remains unchanged. There are spells that can sustain a person in this manner, but there\u2019s no evidence that one is in effect.<\/span><\/p>\n W<\/span>e have arrived.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarenith 29 (Magnimar, Evening) T ien is dizzyingly complicated. The written form has thousands of pictographs and the spoken language is tonal. I\u2019ve gotten started with some introductory lessons here over the past couple of days, and picked up some books for self-study, but this is not going to be an easy process. Fortunately, I\u2019ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-1458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","tag-kali"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1458"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5668,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458\/revisions\/5668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Erastus 1 (Sandpoint, Afternoon)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 10 (Roderic’s Cove, Evening)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 14 (Velashu Uplands, Afternoon)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 14 (Velashu Uplands, Night)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 15 (Velashu Uplands, Evening)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 16 (The Nolands, Evening)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 17 (The Nolands, Noon)<\/h3>\n
Erastus 17 (Brinewall, Evening)<\/h3>\n