From ToEE

Daily Diary of Gara Duhl, Holy Warrior of the Orcs

Day Five - Sabbatical

Woke up at dawn. Decided to skip my morning exercises, and instead popped down to the stable to give Bankie a good brushing and to feed him some apple. Stumbled across that shifty-looking druid, who was engrossed in delivering a speech to the assembled animals, telling them to throw off their human oppressors (both metaphorically and literally) and to run free. None of the animals seemed very impressed. Bankie trod on the druid's foot - I was so proud. After she had limped off I gave Bankie some attention, then patted some of the dogs that were leashed in the stables, including the squeaker's new wolf. I should get a hunting dog... I would call it Bouncer. Meditated in the hayloft while watching the sunrise.

Popped into the common room for breakfast. Ate about six of those little muffin things with the fruit inside, plus drank two pots of tea. Grugg came downstairs about then and we passed some time playing BARG!, a traditional orcish card game. He won easily - I couldn't eat anywhere near as many cards as he could. During the game Grugg surprised me: we risked a quiet conversation in orcish as we played, and I was amazed by his eloquent speech. It seems he has trouble with the Common tongue specifically, and as a result I had made a grave error of character judgement, assuming him to be slow and stupid. It shames me to admit it, but I think he actually may be my intellectual superior. (I just wish he would stop eating those Vargul-damned goblins - his teeth are in a terrible state!)

The rest of the party came downstairs soon after, and after they had breakfasted we set about splitting up yesterday's loot. I am more used to party members squabbling over treasure, a very sorry state of affairs, so I was pleased to see that Kunoichi had the foresight to have borrowed a set of scales and a large abacus from the innkeeper. In no time at all she had the loot divvied up - I was very impressed with her efficiency. If only she were two feet taller and a bit greener, she would be my ideal woman...

At the other end of the party spectrum is that damned dandelion-eater who joined us yesterday. Honestly, stick a pair of pointy ears on somebody and they think they're god. I have never been able to tolerate any of those arrogant tree-huggers, though. I was surprised when she started addressing me in fluent orcish, but when I realised that she was still addressing me in childish monosyllables even in my native tongue, I just walked out.

Bought a simple lunch from a roadside stand as I explored Hommlet. The Trading Post had some nice armour, but nothing in my size. They said I could order in some larger chain, but I will have to raid a few more dungeons before I can afford that. Out the back of the Trading Post I found they had animals for sale, including several dogs! There was one in particular that I liked, a mature wolfhound with a quiet demeanour, but I decided to think for another day or two about the responsibilities of owning a dog before buying her. Remember, a dog is for life, not just for Vargul's Day.

Did my afternoon exercises and meditations on the village green. I must admit I over-exerted myself somewhat - a small crowd gathered around and encouraged me to extend my usual twenty push-ups to a hundred! They counted them out loudly, and though I struggled through the last twenty or so, their encouragement pushed me through to a hundred. I feel like a right idiot now, though: my arms feel like an ogre has been using them for toothpicks. Several villagers joined me in meditation, which was a novelty.

Popped in to the church of St Cuthbert on the way back to the inn. While He is not my deity of choice, I have always respected the dedication and order that is central to His worship. Pity the cleric in charge is a bit of a bastard...

Was exhausted when I got back to the inn, so I had a quiet dinner in the corner by myself. Retreated upstairs. Skipped evening exercises, and nearly fell asleep during evening meditation. Wrote in diary with eyes heavy, then went to bed.

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