From ToEE

Daily Diary of Gara Duhl, Holy Warrior of the Orcs

Day Six - Dark Whispers

Woke up early again. Arms still hurting. Went down to coachyard to do some gentle exercises and found Kunoichi there already. Didn't speak, but I copied her very odd exercises, just to try something different. They looked easy, but by Vargul's eyepatch they required a lot of concentration and balance. Managed to not fall on my arse and make a fool of myself, but still felt like a bit of an idiot anyway, balancing on one leg and waving my arms about. Think I will stick with star-jumps in future.

Popped back inside inn for breakfast, and ate far too many sausages. Pocketed several extra sausages, wrapped in a handkerchief. Went to trading post and shared sausages with hunting dogs. Wanted to buy one, but could not decide which. Decided to wait until the end of the day and then come back.

Realised I had forgotten my morning meditation. Felt that Old Blind Vargul would not mind me popping into the church of another god so concerned with discipline, so decided to meditate in the church of St Cuthbert. The atmosphere was nice, but meditation was cut short by the obnoxious resident priest, as he began walking past and coughing loudly, hinting with no subtlety at all that he would rather I wasn't there. Honestly, what a wanker. On my way out I noticed poor little Benjamin, working diligently. I don't like him much, but it was obvious that his superior was working him to death. Decided to come back and lend him a hand after lunch.

Wandered about Hommlet looking for a nice place to eat, and finally discovered a great little teahouse on the northern edge of town. Drank some nice tea and munched on a variety of delightful pastries. It was here that I first began to hear the whispers of encroaching darkness. According to rumours, bandit activity is on the rise in the lands about Hommlet, and there are suggestions that this activity may be centred around the old ruined moathouse that lies an hour or two outside town. Sounds like a job for my new comrades and me. Bought a small paper packet of tea leaves and a campfire kettle, plus a set of six metal mugs.

Strolled back over to the church and found Benjamin. He was not eager to talk to me, but after a few careful comments about law-loving deities, and an offer of some hot tea, he relented. We made a pot of tea and spent a good half an hour chatting about various topics, and I assisted him with his chores, carrying boxes of prayer books and clearing away spent candles. Benjamin really is a decent fellow, if far too tense, but then I suppose nobody who devotes his life to St Cuthbert can be all bad. Right on cue, Terjon appeared and started another of his coughing fits. Nice work challenging the stereotype. Honestly, some people...

Found a nice quiet wooded grove near the centre of town and performed my afternoon exercises and meditation by a beautiful little pond. Beauty was spoiled somewhat by damage to trees - looks like some idiot has been banging spikes into them or something. Saw a fox. Gave it half of my last sausage.

Finally returned to the trading post. After much deliberation I narrowed my choices down to two dogs: the wolfhound from yesterday, and a spirited little terrier. Both are excellent animals with much intelligence and character. Will sleep on this problem and decide which to buy tomorrow. Bought a couple of large belt pouches while I was there, and sold my spare boots, which are very nice but far too soft. My big, solid horseriding boots are far better for stomping about the countryside, and when I am relaxing I prefer to go barefoot. Shopkeep gave me a very unsatisfactory price - sure, there isn't much demand for boots that size, but the sheer volume of leather must make them valuable!

Returned to inn for dinner and talk with my comrades. Others among them have heard about the moathouse, so we agreed to ask around town tomorrow and see what we could find out. Ate a pleasant meal of mutton and roast vegetables. Would have been a very nice evening, except some idiot set some birds loose in the inn, and one of them crapped in my beer as it flew over. Was seriously unimpressed - it was a full mug of damned good ale, and I had only had a single sip. If I find out that damned druid is responsible, as I suspect, I'll tie her damned legs into a bow!

Retired to my room. Realised I had forgotten my exercises again, so I did a few dozen repetitions lifting my bed up to my chin. Someone in another room shouted about someone moving furniture around, and I found myself speechless. Meditated briefly. Jotted in diary. Went to bed.

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