Oswald's Travels

Oswald is a man of poetry rather than letters. However, he has made a point of noting down his feelings that he may turn them to verse at some later date. His diary takes over from Idunn's journal when her pregnancy leaves her less inclined to write.

Journal Entries - Tangled Strands of the Caligari, Cabora

Tangled Strands of the Caligari

“The Mystery of the Scarred Man”

Vodacce suffers from many calamities, most prominent of which are its rulers. Divided amongst Princes the land is barely kept together and will only unify under the direst of circumstances. In some provinces pretence at upholding the rule of law is maintained, but other provinces are not so fortunate.

It was with a strange twist of fate that I found myself within the city of Porte Spatia. An interesting city filled with strange sights and travellers. Not least of which are the Crescents upon whom I set eyes for the first time in my brief and danger-filled life. Their outlandish garb and curved swords were a wonder to behold and it is with a heavy heart that I confess to having seen very few of their women-folk.

During one evening of exploring the city I had the great fortune of discovering a tavern in which a young Crescent lady was dancing in a most exciting manner that involved shaking her hips and other parts of her delightful form. It was mesmerising to behold and only at the end of the performance did the other tavern goers notice my entrance.

It's sad to say that the language barrier did little to help my cause and I beat a hasty retreat. With the young lady's hand firmly in mine she led me down a warren of alleyways that opened up to an opulent building hidden away behind a screen of houses. Slipping past the guards unseen the enchanting lady gave a private performance in a room filled with soft cushions and pillows. I will spare the lady's honour by not writing down her name or the other performances that she put on that night for a poor knight far from home.

The very next day an ugly rumour reached my ears by way of a mixed crew of sailors lounging by the dock front. A tall Vesten man carrying a sturdy staff and a pouch full of bandages and other gear was busy telling his companions about the existence of a strange creature that preyed on the good and honest citizens of the city by bleeding their purses dry.

Not only did the creature employ thugs to extort money, but it hid behind the façade of an arch criminal who held the city's artisans and merchants in a grip of steel. The Vesten man painted the image of a man of great intellect and cunning, manipulating and plotting. However, from his words I saw what lay beneath the mask of a scarred man. This could none other than one of the Unseelie leaching the good fortune of the poor citizens to feed its insatiable cravings.

Realising that I was up against a foe who fought using street thugs, cunning misdirection and paralysing fear in his arsenal I set out to locate his agents and track them to their lair.

My first attempt was successful up to a point as I was able to save a candle maker and his daughter from being robber by the afore-mentioned thugs. The candle-maker reacted strangely by refusing to thank me and even went so far as to drive me out of his shop. His daughter on the other hand was a kinder soul with a softer heart. Who permitted me to rest from my search for the Scarred man for a few bliss filled hours before my quest carried me onwards.

I say successful up to a point as I heard the next day that the candle-makers shop had burned down. Several strange travellers were mixed up in the incident of the burning shop, but alas the Montaigne merchant who told me of the event could provide scant few details.

Apparently the travellers included a Montaigne lady, a Vendel lady and an Avalon lady. An Eisen knight, Castillian priest and peasant of unknown origin as well as a Vodacce man. Surely such a strange collection of people would not be hard to spot, I told myself and sure enough I found them within the hour.

They sat outside a shop, bold as brass, drinking coffee and soaking up the mid-day sun. I could tell that they were studying a shop intently and realised that would soon strike at the place, robbing the owner of his hard-earned earnings. Sure enough the Eisen man came out of the shop and the others followed after.

The best course of action was to confront them about their work for the villainous Scarred man creature and of course I did so immediately. The Eisen informed me politely that he was not employed by the Scarred man but his words ran hollow. Never the less I gave him the benefit of the doubt and when he told me that he would take me to the Scarred man I could tell that this time he was telling the truth.

In my line of work it pays to know when a man or woman is lying and this time was no exception. He did in deed take me to the lair of the Scarred man, but on the way we stopped off at a tavern in a run-down district of the city. Once inside I was confronted with the conundrum of giving the thugs a thorough beating and thereby endangering the lives of innocents, or to put my fate in the hands of Theus.

As a Knight of Elaine I value life, liberty and unbridled passion above all else and was therefore forced to surrender my weapons so that the ravishing Avalon lady and her friend the Vodacce swordsman did not have their skulls perforated with fast moving lead shot. Theus rewarded me by sending the other strange travellers to come to my aid and so away with the bumbling thugs.

After the others had arrived and the thugs sent on their way I was able to learn the names of the unusual travellers and become a little more acquainted with them, although perhaps not as much as I would have liked given the time permitting.

The group appeared to be led by a small, blonde and stunning gorgeous Vendel lady who was blessed with child as was apparent from the slight bulge of her corset lower down. This Vendel lady called Idunn Laars was married to the Castillian priest called Alejandro something or another. The two formed a mismatched couple that at first glance seemed out of place. But spending just a few minutes in their presence I could clearly see that few couples would ever be blessed with so strong and passionate a love of those two.

Next came the handsome Vodacce man called Piettro from some famous or infamous Vodacce family. I can never remember the names of the Princes, but somehow the names of their wives and daughters do stay in my memory. Strange, perhaps I will ask Sir Peppin about this upon my return to the Isles.

Alison is the name of the ravishing beauty that I mentioned earlier who would make any sailor dance in desperation to catch just a glimpse of her ankle. She stirs the blood simply by the way she brushes her lovely locks from in front of her sultry eyes. Some women are worth dying for and Alison is definitely one of them.

What can I say about the lady Francine except to say her beauty pierced my body like a master swordsman's blade straight through the heart. She is a woman with a certain something that makes a man looks twice in quick succession and almost twist his poor head from his tired shoulders. Elegant and poised my eyes cannot help but follow her every move as I study the gracefulness of her every motion.

Sir Orlando is a fair lad with a good heart whose voice can rise to uncomfortably high levels at times. This is matched with the level to which his temper can rise when his friends are in danger and I am grateful to his bravery in doing away with the thugs at the run down tavern.

Last but not least in the good squire Pyotyr who will not stand by whilst men of dubious morals threaten the well-being of his fellow man for their benefit. I have seen this myself when he struck a nobleman a mighty blow at the suggestion that the house-staff end for themselves in the event of a deliberately started fire.

The discussion on how best to storm the stronghold of the twisted creature masquerading under the name of the Scarred Man became rather heated. After the young squire Pyotyr laid out Lord Villanova with a mighty right hook, it fell on my shoulders to see that the man was given proper medical attention.

The doctor performed his job well and I was about to go in search of a nurse when lady Alison asked me to share a glass of wine with her. Never one to disappoint a lady, especially one so well proportioned and beguiling to the senses, I spent some time chatting to the fair lady. The topic of the conversation escapes my memory, but the sweet bouquet of her perfume and soft, beautiful curve of her neck lingers still within my memory.

A knight’s duty is to be vigilant at all times and this includes standing guard for most of the night by the mansion of this so called Scarred Man. In the morning lady Francine and lady Alison relieved my weary mind of the troubles that had plagued it during the night by filling my vision with beauty, laughter and enchanting words.

The shutters were closed and curtains were drawn in each of the windows further confirming my suspicions that we were dealing with something not wholly human. The fact that the creature had either a distaste or negative reaction towards sunlight indicated to me that we would be best able to defeat the Scarred Man creature by bringing light in to the heart of its stronghold. And what light is more powerful that the light of the truth?

Once our motley band of knights was assembled lady Alison stepped bravely in to the path of danger by marching right up to the front doors. Four armed men came out of the front door and attempted to make us retreat from their stronghold, but I urged lady Alison not to flee. She began to whimper and her spirits fell to such a level that she compared herself to a common Jenny.

My heart was ready to burst and I was about to sweep stunning paragon of womanhood up in to my arms and carry her to safe, warm and luxurious inn when shouts began to rise up from around the back of the building. I heard a lady's cry from inside I knew that it was the time for action and sped towards the Vodacce buffoons. With a cry of 'Huzzah!' I leapt for the entranceway.

They shot at me with their guns, but their hearts were not in it and the bullets went wide. The tried to block me with their bodies, but wills were sapped and they fell like rotten trees. 'For Queen and Country' I cried as I raced through the maze-like interior of the deviously constructed stronghold of my enemy.

At last I found the room in which lady Francine had fallen to the Scarred Man's blows. She was bleeding profusely and I felt as though her soul was about to take flight. 'Sweet Theus, please do not deny the world this beauty by stealing her away from us,' I rose to my feet and stumbled through the poisonous fumes that laced the air within the chamber and managed to get lady Francine to safety.

The buffoons had already succumbed to the poison in their foolish attempts to capture me.

Unfortunately lady Alison had fallen afoul of the same trap and lay unmoving in the room of unseen vaporous death. Gathering the last of my strength for one final charge I ran back in to the room and managed to get lady Alison almost to the doorstep, but the Scarred Man creature's wicked poisons overcame my defences.

By the grace of Theus the other members of my motley band of knights turned up in the nick of time to carry lady Alison to safety and to save a valiant fallen knight. The decadent Sir Orlando revived me gently and I led the others to safety from the trap-riddled stronghold of almost inescapable doom as I gently carried lady Alison. Sir Axle carried lady Francine in his arms and the others followed behind.

Alas the creature masquerading under the title of the Scarred Man has escaped and is currently on the run. What manner of wicked creature it actually is and what nefarious schemes it has yet to hatch remains to be seen. That, with my deepest regrets, is a mystery which will have to wait for another time.

Fortunately the good people of Porto Spacia can now rest comfortably at night without the worry of the Scarred Man stealing in to their houses in the night to rob their purses and carry off their souls. The merchants whom we'd aided were very generous with their thanks and most of them were reassured by the description of our daring raid of the Scarred Man's stronghold.

Two ladies of adventurous spirit who make a living as seamstresses were fearful of the wicked creature's return and I offered to stay with them for a few days. It was a demanding task standing to attention for so long with two ladies to divide my attention between. However, a knight should be ever vigilant and by the end of my stay the ladies felt so reassured that they took to their beds and slept soundly for several days.

Cabora

“Step in to My Parlour”

I had dinner with Prince Villanova the other night. It was an interesting affair to say the least. To be seated at the table of one of Théah's arch-criminals and not be able to confront him with his untold number of crimes. The words: 'Ha, ha, Prince Villanova we meet at last,' were on the tip of my tongue but the very air from my lungs was sucked away as I drank in the beauty of his serenely enchanting lady wife and exuberantly sumptuous lady courtesan.

His lady wife was like the stars reflected in the water. Stunning to look upon and bedazzling to the eyes. Yet forever out of reach, pure innocent beauty held hostage in a house of lies. Valentina. Even her name speaks promises of undying love and joy. But a cruel twist of fate has left her languishing, in the hands of one of Théah's most reviled men she is nothing more than a pawn.

Juliette... She is a carnival of desire, a temptress without equal. When she sauntered in to the room my heart got caught in my throat and I forgot how to breathe. My heart pumped more wildly than ever in any duel and it felt as though my feet were rising off the ground.

Her laughter is like that of an angel and her barbed insults would make a devil hang his head in shame. She is a sinner, a saint, there's nothing of which she's ashamed. Watching the two women trade insults was something that will remain with me for years to come. They wage an epic battle of wills whose damage will probably never be undone.

There were of course several other guests at the table. Lord Pietro's lovely and charming wife lady Rosina was there with their adorable daughter Luisa. The dear child must take after her mother's side of the family as is often the case with daughters. Understandably they did not converse much during the meal as their reunion after so many years must have been very emotional for them all.

At some point after the beginning of the meal I realised that I'd lost something. But by the time that I knew it was gone it was too late to take it back. Lady Fiora Bernoulli had stolen my heart. I admit, without shame, that I she held me captive for all of the meal and for a long time afterwards. After staying in Vodacce for some time and seeing first hand the effects of the Great Game of the men and women of the land, I had thought not to find anyone untouched by it.

But sitting at Prince Villanova's table was a divine creature of unsurpassed innocent beauty, grace and purity. I do not recall what we discussed, what we ate or what any of the other guests did. My attention was on lady Fiora alone.

At some point in the evening the meal must have finished and lady Fiora, lady Idunn and lady Francine began talking about marriage and raising children. It is not a subject that I am overly familiar with, except as an observer, and so I bid the ladies a good night. Alas sleep would not welcome me in to its dark embrace and I was forced to walk the corridors of Prince Villanova's house.

Perchance I happened upon two ladies who were also out for a stroll. We exchanged some words in jest and to my mild disappointment they told me that there were no monsters to be slain in Prince Villanova's house. I suspected that they might be playing a game with me but managed to fool them for long enough to find somewhere quiet to question them. Realising that this might be my only chance to find out the truth of what went on in the household of Prince Villanova I escorted both ladies to my chambers.

Vodacce women may look soft and delicate but many of them have a core of steel. The two Vodacce ladies were more than a match for a road-weary knight and our battle of wits lasted for many long blissful hours. It is difficult to say who came out on top, suffice it to say that everyone walked away feeling as though they had scored many victories, especially the petite dark-haired lady.

The next morning lady Fiora took us on a boat ride to the heart of the spider's web that is Vodacce. Even the guards outside the Living Tower of Spiders had web tattoos and twisted blades. The Tower itself had curves and spirals that were painful to look upon and shifted in shape as we watched. As soon as we stepped across the threshold and were confronted by spiders as big as pony's that one reads about in grim fairy tales I knew that we'd stepped in to the middle of Vodacce's web.

Lady Fiora assured me that the giant spiders were pets but never the less I remained on my guard. As her soothing touch brushed away my sword I vowed that I was willing to follow her anywhere, although later I almost came to regret that promise. Perhaps lord Pietro could have done with that soothing touch as well as he went all to pieces in front of the spiders. I felt quite sorry for the man and realised that some gentlemen have a weak spot which turns their knees to jelly. Unfortunately for lord Pietro that weakness happens to be spiders.

Sir Axle and I escorted lord Pietro, kicking and screaming, up the stairs made of living spiders in to the enchanted swamp garden near the top of the tower. All manner of wondrous flowers and magnificent plants adorned the unnatural swamp, but alas the scene was spoiled by the arrival of an old and haggard lady who was more spider than woman.

She spoke at great length in Vodacce to several of my companions and muttered something in my direction. When I asked her about the Scarred Man the woman cackled and muttered some more which lady Fiora translated to me to mean: 'she does not give a rodent's rear-end'. Well, I can tell you that meeting an old lady who has an obsession about spiders and lives in a tower that belongs in a Vodacce's twisted nightmare is not my idea of stepping out for a lovely cup of tea.

But out of respect for my friends and for the chance to spent even a few enchanted hours in lady Fiora's company I was more than willing to brave any spider-filled hell. Ever vigilant I was expecting an attack from a green-faced goblin or leering pooka at any time. However, it appears that the only venom spilled that day was once we had left the tower and lady Francine and lady Alison exchanged bitter words.

The old woman had apparently done something to the ravishingly beautiful lady Alison that had most disconcerted her. Apparently it is rude for one fate witch to mess with the strands of another and it appears as though lady Alison was unaware of the fact that she'd once been a fate witch. Demora Villanova had shown her this and when lady Francine reminded her of this at the base of the tower, well – she just snapped. Perhaps once lady Alison gets to meet Beatrice Caligari the whole thing will be straightened out.

Sir Peppin, I would caution any knight to tread carefully when in the presence of these powerful fate-witches. The Tesseract** has a long reach that may one day reach the blessed shores of our fair kingdoms.

** - The four-dimensional equivalent of a cube (purposely misspelled)

Is there ever a good time to go swimming in the canals and water-ways of Dionne? The answer is of course, any time that a Lady requires it. Such was the case when a fate witch called Regina Villanova plunged off a walk-way and in to the canal.

At the time that I dived in to the canal I was unaware of her name or that in fact she was the sister of Lord Orlando. I was also unaware of the fact that lady Alison has slipped and fallen in shortly afterwards. Fortunately lady Francine had the fore-sight to get a boat in order to rescue lady Alison.

Saving lady Regina from drowning was a simple matter, saving her from her husband proved to be something rather more difficult. He, that is the husband, turned up looking for a fight and promptly picked on Sir Axel. The two exchanged a number of blows (although it seemed to me that Sir Axel was overdoing it a bit) and a date for the duel was set.

But before that duel could take place, lord Pietro had a small matter of honour to settle himself. Earlier in the day he'd confided in Sir Axel and I that another man had been seen making advances on his lady wife. He could not decide which of us should be his second and left it up to us to decide. We settled it over a sporting game of arm-wrestling from which yours truly come out as the victor.

I'll spare you the blow by blow details of the duel except to say that it was brief. The man, called Sebastian Antone, bragged about various indiscretions that he and lady Villanova had supposedly partaken. Lord Pietro behaved as a perfect gentleman and kept silent during all of this. He simply struck him twice lightning-fast and Sebastian lay dead at his feet.

Afterwards the mater of lady Regina's position came up again as a topic of discussion and it seems there were some heated disagreements. Sir Axel and I escorted lady Francine back to our residence. On the way back we travelled by gondola and as lady Francine lay cradled in my arms I felt my heart overflow with my love for her. My tongue refused to be silent in the presence of a lady of such grace and beauty; my heart rebelled at the thought of being unmoved.

Gaze not on thy beauty's pride,
Tender maid, in the false tide
That from lovers' eyes doth slide
Let thy faithful crystal show
How thy colours come and go :
Beauty takes a foil from woe.

Love, that in those smooth streams lies
Under pity's fair disguise,
Will thy melting heart surprise.

Nets of passion's finest thread,
Snaring poems will be spread,
All to catch thy maidenhead.

Then beware ! for those that cure
Love's disease, themselves endure
For reward a calenture.

Rather let the lover pine,
Then his pale cheek should assign
A perpetual blush to thine.

“Matters to be settled”

Have I told you much about my good friend Lord Pietro Villanova? What’s that, you are friends with a member of one of those Vodacce families you ask? Well most certainly and I count him amongst one of my closets of friends. What did this man do to deserve such an honour? Well, simply by being the man that he is and striving every day to avoid becoming the man that his wife, family and society would like him to become.

I had the honour of meeting his parents after the duel. I say honour as there was little pleasure in the occasion. Whilst they are both extremely polite and well mannered, they can in my humble opinion only be described as utterly horrible people. When Pietro returned home his father struck him in the face and the two dueled. For a moment I thought that he might take the life of his son, but at the last moment turned aside his blow.

Suffice it to say the reception was less than welcoming for Piettro and every action and line of conversation seemed to balance on a rapier’s edge. It is a miracle of Theus that Pietro has not followed in his parents’ footsteps although his father is keen to drag him along kicking and screaming if need be. He even went so far as to ‘employ’ his son in the capacity of ‘son’.

Anyway, the less that I mention Pietro’s family the better. Lord Orlando on the other hand also suffers from having relatives (by way of marriage) who are not very kind people. In the morning as we were on the way to the duel I saw lady Fiora make her appearance in the room and I could almost hear a chorus of choirs burst in to song to shout their praise. She looked positively divine and when I complemented her as such she turned a stunning shade of pink.

Sorry, lady Fiora can be very distracting. Oh yes, I was on the subject of unpleasant relatives. Well, lord Piettro had managed to get the duel changed so that it was no longer to the death. This was fortunate as Fausto Villanova (the husband of Regina, who is lord Orlando’s sister) hired a master at arms to duel on his behalf.

At some point a doctor or scholar from Avalon made an appearance and he seemed to be acquainted with several of our motley crew of knights. This was fortunate as the fight was both swift and brutal. Sir Axle took the first blow but dealt an even mightier one in return. As the two opponents circled each other Sir Axel feinted and Sir Luigi Mondavi fell for it. This gave the mighty Eisen the opportunity to deprive the Vodacce duelist of his weapon. His response was to beat Sir Axel soundly around the head until the strong Eisen was finally felled.

All this time Fausto Villanova was on his way home as he did not bother to stay for the fight. I thought this most unsporting and it would have been better for him if he had. On the one hand he would have found out somewhat later that his lovely lady wife was spirited away from his home, but on the other he would still have been alive.

As we set sail later on that day lord Orlando admitted to having killed Fausto in a street fight and lady Regina was most distressed. I could not tell if this was due to the shocking news of the loss of her husband or relief that he would never again be in a position to threaten her life or make it a misery. Lady Regina mentioned that her former husband was part of a larger conspiracy called N.O.M. Apparently a woman called Natalya is of importance to these Naughty Old Men, but I’m sure that this is a tale for another time.

In the mean time, here is a childhood rhyme that I remembered as we set sail:

I do not like the Unseelie,
I like them not at all,
They hide in places hard to see,
And plot our Nation’s fall.
‘Ware should you go down to the woods,
For there they lie in wait,
Anger, malice are their moods,
It’s me and you they hate.

Greetings curious and gentle traveller to the fabulous town of Malacca. This is a wonderful little town on the Eastern shore of Castile that is famous for its shellfish, the independent spirit of its inhabitants and the unique architecture that gives the towns its very own identity. Did I mention that they serve very good shellfish?

The rooms that we stayed in where simple but nice…Well, actually the rooms that we stayed in were very nice indeed but this seemed the appropriate thing to write in a letter home. Why is it that there must always be a mention of what the accommodation was like? Perhaps it is a polite way of wishing that the recipient of the letter was with the sender of the letter. Or put more plainly: wish you were here.

On the way over lord Orlando changed his attire from a nobleman to a swordswoman. I have to compliment him on the transformation as it was very convincing indeed. He spent a great deal of time comforting his sister and finally joined the conversation as we rode in coaches up the foothills of the mountains towards the Hacienda. As we stepped out of the coaches I saw that the view from the mansion was incredible and there was a nice view of the sea behind us.

Attending the wedding on lady Fiora’s side of the family were her parents Erbaldo and Teresa Bernoulli as well as her older sister Bianca, older brother Gianni and younger brother Rolando. Of all of them only Rolando showed any warm emotion to seeing his sister once again. I made the mistake of trying to strike up a conversation with her mother and sister, but I might as well have been a fly trying to have a pleasant conversation with a spider.

The name of the lucky man to have the honour of marrying lady Fiora is Don Sebastian Gallegos. He is an average looking man around thirty years of age who has a well kept beard. At least that is the description that I was given before meeting him and he lived up to the description quite well. The only thing missing from the description was the look of pride in his eyes.

The Hacienda was staffed by numerous Midnight Archi-pelicans who had sailed all the way from the Midnight Archipelago. For awhile I simply stood and stared at the strange people, but soon got used to having them around. Their command of Castilian was not always great, but hand-signals made for an entertaining way to get messages across.

The banquet was a lavish affair and the hall was decked out with fanciful and frightening masks. I did not get a chance to speak much with lady Regina as her name had abruptly changed to lady Rebecca and she was instantly transformed in to lady Fiora’s maid. Since this was a curious turn of events I simply left the matter in lady Orlando’s hands and promised that I would guard her sister’s virtue with my life.

During the meal Sir Axel told me about his encounters with the Ice Queen and I told him about meeting the Frost King in the mountains of Eisen. The memory of the shepherdess who came to my aid stirred my heart and I was moved to compose a few words about the Goodly Folk.

You cannot bargain with the Sidhe,
For bargains they disdain,
Porte, Sorte - you will see,
Drives Goodly Folk insane.

They’ll hunt you down and steal your mind,
An empty head - no brain,
Should you catch them, get it back,
Broken memories and dreams remain.

OK, it’s one of my worst ones to date but the wine that they served at the meal was very good indeed. I could not help but notice that lady Orlando filled out her clothes quite well and that perhaps lord Pietro was mistaken about her being a man. There were some pretty strong hints to suggest otherwise.

In fact lord Piettro was caste in to a different light when lady Alison mentioned a certain incident involving a cabin boy. This of course led to the two of them fighting again and I later advised lord Pietro that should he want her back that he surprise her with a gift or proclaim his love loudly.

The latter was said more in jest but sure enough lord Pietro woke up all of the Hacienda and most of the town with his loud proclamations that he was in love with lady Alison. Whilst she is a ravishingly beautiful woman whose charms are certainly worth dying for. She also has a vicious streak a mile wide that any man should be very wary off. Lady Alison is the kind of woman who can bring great fortune or ruin to a whole kingdom if she put her mind to it.

In fact, here are a few words that came to mind as I was deep in my cups:

Lady Alison’s looks do bewitch,
All men both poor and rich,
An incredible build,
Brings wealth to the guild,
She’s a seductress, an angel, a fate witch.

The wedding the next day was a magical affair that went without a mishap. At the end of the ceremony held in Old Thean the most beautiful woman in the world entered the chapel to proclaim her blessings. Words fail to describe her looks or the way that she moved and the only words to escape my lips were: “Ding dong!”.

The woman who was a fate witch called Lucrieza spoke with lady Alison and lady Orlando afterwards and then glided off serenely. As gentle as a swan gliding across the water and as deadly as a snake through the grass. During the celebrations a heavenly creature played the violin and set my mind on fire with her incredible skill and enchanting looks. However, I will leave the details of the celebrations for my next letter.

"That certain sinking feeling... "

Weddings. I truly love weddings They are such special occasions and ladies always react to them in a certain manner. Their heads become filled with thoughts of love, passion and romance more than at any other time and my uncle Godfrey was well known for meeting his latest love interests at weddings. Such was his reputation that he stopped being invited to all weddings after his twenty-third broken heart roused the other spurned women and had his name enshrined in law.

"From this day forward, the royal court has decreed that the man known as Godfrey Oswold is prohibited, upon pain of death, from attending any wedding parties or being within a mile radius of such an occasion. Should this man be seen within the vicinity of a wedding it is the duty of any man and right of any woman to bring his presence to the attention of any representative of the law so that he can be arrested immediately."

Three weddings later and two broken hearts he was finally caught. But before they managed to get him to the court house he was carried off by the Sidhe and not the nice variety. Anyway, I seem to have gotten somewhat distracted.

Ah yes, weddings, music and dancing. I had the pleasure of dancing with lady Alison as well as lady Orlando. Lady Alison is brilliant dancer although I noticed that she was paying a lot of attention to lord Pietro. This is of course fully understandable, but I'm pretty sure that she danced with me just to make him envious. Of course being a gentleman I did not take advantage of it too much, simply danced better and matched lady Alison step for step.

Poor lady Francine was abandoned by Sir Axle and so naturally I danced with her as well. Unfortunately I did not have the pleasure of dancing with lady Fiora as I felt the sudden urge to go for fresh air in the garden. Perhaps it was the heady scent of perfume that lady Fiora wears that makes my knees go weak or some other sense warning me of danger. Not danger of lady Fiora, but rather danger elsewhere. Sure enough I heard screams from the garden and rushed down the path to find lady Orlando being dragged off by some forceful Vodacce men.

I have to commend Sir Axle on his stamina and instincts as he beat me to the narrow bath on the cliff edge leading to the boat where lady Orlando was being taken to. He fought like a man possessed, kicking one man off the path and slicing another in half. Lady Alison got a lucky shot off that struck a man whom I later learned was lady Orlando's brother. He got away in a small boat and I gently carried lady Orlando back to the festivities.

Our spirits were somewhat dampened and the carnival atmosphere of the wedding revived our flagging spirits. The copious amounts of wine and champagne provided also helped I must admit. At the end of the evening I accompanied lady Orlando to her room and felt the sudden urge to kiss her in a most passionate way. Having swept her off her feet I gallantly offered to stand guard by her door and then quietly recommended that I could guard her from the bedroom side of the door. She graciously accepted my offer and I spent some time making sure that lady Orlando (and let me reaffirm that she is indeed very much a lady and not a lord) was comfortable and reassured of her safety.

In the morning I was sad to hear that the lady Idunn was returning home, but it is understandable for a lady in her condition to want to be with her family. She said a tearful farewell to the others and we left to sail back to Dionna. It was a peaceful voyage that freshened our minds and allowed the effects of the merriment and celebrations to wear off. Unfortunately when we arrived back in Vodacce a storm of a different variety was waiting for us.

The storm that awaited us in Dionna was created by none other than lord Pietro's wife. After a quick tour of several apothecaries we soon discovered that the one person who had recently bought all of the anti-dote to the poison that was slowly consuming lord Pietro was in the hands of his wife. I was rather baffled by this turn of events as it did not at first glance make any sense.

I know that the people we love are also the ones that we end up hurting, but to do so deliberately and with poison staggers the imagination. However, the pieces soon fit in to place when we had the opportunity to meet up with his lady wife. She had arranged for a rendezvous at a restaurant where she held all the cards and we only held one. That card being our friend who was worsening by the hour. Lady Villanova explained to her husband that she wanted his signature on a formal document that he would renounce all contact with his daughter.

At first lord Pietro was very opposed to the idea and his lady wife was on the way out when I managed to convince her to stay awhile longer. Lady Alison dealt with convincing lord Pietro that whilst there was life there was hope and that singing a piece of paper was the best option. It took awhile but we finally got lord Pietro sign the accursed document and his lady wife left with a recommendation to have the house white wine. It was the first suggestion that she had said that I agreed with and the wine turned out to be very pleasant. Lord Pietro seemed to recover somewhat after having some wine and was most displeased when he learned what he had signed.

In the end we decided to put as much distance between ourselves and lord Pietro's wife as possible. I held my tongue over the affair, but was left with the feeling that there was still one poison which had not been countered. Namely the poisoning of poor Louisa Villanova against her father. Perhaps if we had time lord Pietro could have worked to get a trusted retainer in to her household to counter some of the poisoning. Alas that was not be.

On the way to Caligari island lady Alison decided to demonstrate her familiarity aboard ship-life by climbing nimbly in to the rigging. At one point she threw down her boot when Sir Axel pointed out that land was in sight and then proceeded to remove from herself of all but her undergarments before climbing down. What a sight it was to behold. It felt as though a love goddess from the legends of old descended to me in a chariot of fire with her hair like flame and skin glowing like the morning sun. The spell was broken when lady Alison stomped off and I watched as sailors stopped in stunned silence whilst the goddess of fiery passion walked in their midst.

On Caligari island we went to a place called the Lantern tavern. It is a fine establishment if you like your beer watered down, food that has unrecognisable origins and locals whose lineage gets murky after a single generation. Still this was the place that we were supposed to meet a man called Andre and so there we went like lambs to the slaughter. Actually it turned out that Andre was the one who got slaughtered, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The meeting was a rather strange affair with Andre constantly getting up as if he was about to walk out. Perhaps the man needed to 'go' if you know what I mean and he kept brining up the amount that he wanted to be paid to find out about NOM. In the end a fee was settled upon as well as a time and place where the information could be collected. During the day we each went our separate ways and Sir Axle was kind enough to loan me some money for a buckler. It was not as good as my previous one, but desperate times call for poorer quality bucklers.

In the evening we went to the meeting place that Andre had told us to go to and indeed our man was there waiting for us, nailed to the doorway with his throat cut. It was a gruesome sight that almost caused me to lose my lunch. The poor unfortunate fool looked as though he put up quite a struggle but unfortunately he did not survive the encounter. Clutched in his dead hand was a note with three words scribbled on them. It read:

Novus Ordum Mundi

My mind was in turmoil at the sight of poor Andre and the scrap of information that he had paid for with his life. New world order? Who is involved in this? How far does the conspiracy go? Is there a central group in charge of a larger body of conspirators or are they separate cells that each act on their own? Are they a threat to the Triple Kingdoms? Thank the Sidhe for the Graal as it is almost impossible for them to have infiltrated the Knights of Elaine.

Whilst these thoughts and questions whirled around my mind like an autumn breeze stirring up the leaves in a forest, my meditations were disturbed by the scream of a lady in distress. I sprinted to the end of the alley to see a young lady being carried off by a scarred man who had leapt from an upstairs window. Just when I thought him gone for good the Scarred man made a reappearance and there he was in the midst of a nefarious kidnapping. A wounded Castilian man lent out the window and called for aid before collapsing out of sight.

Whom to help? The wounded Castilian who may lie bleeding to death at that very moment? Or his beloved lady that had just been snatched away from him? The answer is contained in my next letter as I have just run out of time. My apologies and I will fill in the next part as soon as I am able.

So the Scarred man rode off in the coach with the fair maiden and her lover was left bleeding upstairs by the broken window. The locals seemed to care little about the kidnapping and were most unhelpful when I asked to borrow a horse. Perhaps it was a mistake to ask for the horse in the first place and simply to have taken it for awhile. But this is not what a man of honour and manners would do.

So instead I did the only other thing that I could and that was to see to the dying man immediately. The innkeeper was about to give me some trouble as lord Pietro stepped across the threshold, however giving him my word as a Knight of Elaine that no trouble would be caused by either of us calmed the man down somewhat. Fortunately lord Pietro got a better reception from the layabouts across the road and they gave him instructions to find a doctor.

It seemed as if an age and a day passed before the sarcastic, complaining and thoroughly professional doctor finally made his grand entrance. The good doctor did manage to bring the wounded man back from the brink for which I am very grateful. But his bedside manner left a lot be answered for.

Francine informed me of the encounters that she'd had before with the lovers Helena and Ramon. It has now become apparent that the Scarred man is involved with them as he has kidnapped the beautiful Helena. I can still see her terrified and saddened eyes as she was carried away from her wounded lover to be rushed off in a mauve coloured coach. The hunched over coachman had an evil glint in his eyes and for a moment I could have sworn that the black horses pulling the coach had flaming hooves.

Once Ramon had regained consciousness he told us what he knew of the Scarred man. The name of this man is Alisandro and the two of them were in prison at some point in the past. Alisandro had an evil reputation and was serving time for killing an ambassador. He and Ramon managed to escape the prison together and Ramon has not seen him since then.

Despite the fact that the trail was cooling with every passing minute, we managed to track the mauve coach to the dock-front. Lord Pietro went off to scout by himself and lady Alison went in to the coach to chat with the sailors. Her actions struck me as a little odd at the time, but alas I did not pay enough attention. Sir Axle, lady Orlando and I came up with the inspired plan to act as if he had overindulged in wine and spirits. We staggered along the docks to the ship where the coach had pulled up and tried to get onboard.

Unfortunately the sailors were not very convinced by our act and I let slip that lord Orlando was in fact lady Orlando. She scolded me for this afterwards and I cannot help wondering if she was overly upset as she was the only one of us three whom the sailors managed to throw in the water. We hurried back to Francine and Ramon where upon Francine told us that Helena had been taken to a boat called the Kestrel.

This time we tried the more direct approach and decided to simply walk onboard and ask to speak to Alisandro, the Scarred man. Lady Alison had arrived before us and was attempting to get onboard, but the sailors had other plans. Sir Axle and I had almost made it on to the ship when lady Alison called out 'cousin!' Of course, this immediately made the sailors suspicious of us and lady Alison conveniently managed to thwart our efforts to get onboard the ship. It suddenly struck me that not only had she been less than helpful, but was actually acting to prevent us from rescuing lady Helena. Overcome by this realisation of her subversive actions I accused her of being in league with the enemy and she put on a great act of the falsely accused.

Of course, her act was simply another delaying tactic as during this time lord Pietro had daringly managed to get onboard single-handedly. Unfortunately the Scarred man was a devilishly good swordsman who beat lord Pietro back and inflicted numerous cuts that began bleeding profusely. Whilst the others were rushing forward to engage the sailors and the Scarred man I shot an arrow using Lover's Kiss that sent the villainous Alisandro in to a dream-less slumber. Lover's Kiss can only be fired as an act of love and seeing poor lord Pietro being taken apart I used this to emotion to feed the Sidhe and call upon their aid.

Fortune smiled upon me and the Sidhe responded. The Scarred man was struck down by the arrow and his fate witch lover was captured as well. Having a dagger thrown by the Scarred man tear open my arm was a small price to pay for taking him out of the fight. The others began to argue and quarrel amongst themselves about what to do. My body needed no such questioning as I was down in the hold of the ship before I knew what was going on. There the lovely and enchanting lady Helena lay tied up and immediately lady Francine and I had her untied and brought above deck. For my small efforts I was rewarded by a kiss from the gorgeous lady Helena and that memory warms me still.

After the beautiful lady Helena and the brave lord Ramon were reunited she told us the secret of the Scarred man and her connection to him. The Scarred man was none other than her half-brother whom she had been separated from as a child. Her brother had taught her Ambrogia and used her to get in to a party where he planned to kill a man. This man happened to be a Castillian ambassador and Alisandro was caught as he tried to escape. Some time later Alisandro and Ramon escaped from jail together and when the Scarred man heard of whom his half-sister was associating with - he took it upon himself to kidnap his daughter and take her away from Ramon's supposed bad influence.

Of course the Scarred man had by this time become oblivious to his own evil that scarred both his soul and his body. Never the less perhaps this one act that had been motivated by a good ideal may yet save, or lessen for him, the punishment that awaits him. We took the unconscious Scarred man and his fate witch lover to the local authorities and bid farewell to the lovers Helena and Ramon.

After a danger-filled day of rescuing damsels in distress, uncovering lady Alison's questionable actions and dispelling the myth that the Scarred man was a renegade Sidhe; but rather a delusional extortionist with aspirations of match-making (or breaking). There was only one more thing to do and that was to enjoy some well earned drinks with Sir Axle. Whilst we were toasting our successes I over-heard a snippet of conversation between lady Orlando and lady Francine that I found rather amusing.

lady Orlando: "My head hurts."
lady Francine: "Why does your head hurt?"
lady Orlando: "Because we're in Vodacce."

That just about summed up my opinion of what life is like in Vodacce. It is filled with plots within schemes within conspiracies that would give any mystery-solving Knight of Elaine a stonking head-ache. Had I known at the time what the next day would bring I would have dunk enough to knock out an entire squad of Musketeers. But alas that is the beauty of hindsight and I will leave this as a tale for another time.

All too quickly the morning came and I bid farewell to the barmaid that I must have wooed the night before, my memory of the event was somewhat patchy to say the least. The others were already downstairs in the inn and as I walked in I heard lady Alison explain to the others that the trail had changed.

Suspicious of her motives, her enchanting words and her seductive figure I was determined to keep a close eye on the lady Alison. Much of the journey of that morning passed me by as I kept up my vigil and all that I recall of the journey was that it involved travelling through the canals of Caligari Island that ended at a partially submerged portcullis.

Lady Alison demonstrated her breadth of skills by unlocking the rusted grill and a combined effort from the brute squad within the group - we were able to shift the metal obstacle. Lady Francine departed briefly through the miracle of Porte and returned in a very fetching pair of ladies trousers. I must confess that my careful watch of lady Alison slipped somewhat as I became aware of just how well the trousers fit and suited lady Francine.

We spent several long minutes walking through the sewers beneath Caligari island. It was difficult to measure the passage of time and so I cannot tell you the exact location that we came across the silver metal vault door. Father Alejandro placed his hand on the imprint in the middle of the rune-spiralling covered door. His strange bracelet glowed briefly and the door slid slowly and silently open. As soon as he stepped across the threshold the door began to close.

Where did Father Alejandro get the bracelet? What was the meaning of the spiraling runes? For a moment when the door opened there was a rushing of air and I thought that all the air would be sucked away. A brief vision of suffocating on barren red muddy beach flashed through my mind as father Alejandro’s bracelet glowed in answer to the door - but the vision passed leaving only a faint after-taste of almonds in my mouth.

Once past the doors it was immediately clear that the tunnels had been worked by master craftsmen. Gone was the rough finish and contoured surfaces. On the other side of the door the walls were smooth and the passage gently downwards sloping. We spent a few moments subduing some guards before proceeding further down.

The majority of the guards appeared to be stationed at the top and as we proceeded downwards we did not run in to any patrols. This combined with lady Alison’s unerring ability to lead us in the right direction should have set off alarm bells with me. However, the only alarm bells that went off were those that we triggered after lady Francine opened yet another locked wooden door. Behind that door was a small room with a malnourished and tortured individual with a haunted look in his eyes.

The bedraggled figure looked up and recognition blossomed across his face. He called out: “Alesio?” To which lady Alison replied: “Not anymore, now I am Alison.”

With the alarm sounding like the bells of doom and the strange man who knew lady Alison from the time period before her supposed amnesia, there was no time for arguing or debates. Instead we hurried as fast as we could away from the descending hordes of swordsmen past more rooms filled with strange Syrneth devices that hummed, whirled, buzzed and sparked ominously and insidiously.

All the gently downward spiralling tunnels led to a small chamber with another circular door set in to the floor. Father Alejandro used his strange bracelet once again and the door began to slowly open. We slid down in to the chamber beneath that turned out to be a large cave that acted as an artificial harbour.

We followed a ramp that led to a harbour made of silver metal instead of sand where the air was heavy with the scent of salty air and the sound of crashing waves. Since the circular door in the ceiling did not close we increased our speed and hurried to the most fantastical boat anchored in the alien harbour.

The boat itself was like something spawned in the dreams of an unforgiven Unseelie renegade guilty of treason against all of the Queens. It was made of the same metal as Alejandro’s bracelet and a continuous arcing flame leapt up from it towards the ceiling. Or perhaps it went in the other direction, the thing defied any sane attempt at an accurate description. Even a seasoned Explorer would suffer nightmares if he spent to much time studying it.

Father Alejandro used the bracelet for the last time and it came off his wrist on some strange metal podium. At that same moment the arcing light ceased and the room resonated with the sounds of numerous swordsmen coming crashing in to the unnatural harbour. Not having much choice of escape we all leapt on to the boat and lady Orlando produced a strange metal tablet that melded in to the ships controls.

The machinery of the ship came to life and the vehicle began racing out of the harbour at the speed of a diving falcon. Literally, I have never seen a ship move that fast never mind actually be on board of one. The whole thing gave me the heebie jeebies but when faced with the choice of glorious battle against Caligari’s armies or defending the ladies on the ship - well, you can guess which option I had to take as a Knight of Elaine.

So there we were in a Syrneth vessel speeding faster than the famed flying fish away from Caligari island with everyone safely aboard. No one was hurt and we had succeeded in rescuing the strange man who knew lady Alison from before. We had survived Caligari’s dungeons and escaped in one of his infernal devices, what could possibly have gone wrong?

Well, perhaps the fact that Caligari Island was sinking.

It was the most horrendous sight that I have ever experienced as a Knight of Elaine. An entire island with close to a hundred thousand souls slowly sinking beneath the waves in to Queen Maab’s realm. My knuckles turned white as I clutched the railings on the ship. At that moment I could have screamed in rage and grief at the loss of so many lives. I could have rend my tabard and hurled abuse at Theus for allowing so many people to die.

Instead I simply stood at the railings watching the death of an island and its inhabitants - and cried. The thought that the sinking was caused by our actions weighed heavy on my heart. It felt as though the island was an anchor pulling down my heart and soul. Tears seemed such an insufficient way to express my grief. Later on that night I gave in to my grief and nightmare tormented blackness of unconsciousness swept over me.

Can a man survive on duty alone? That was something that I unconsciously put to the test as I fought to retain my sanity from the horrors that I witnessed as the island sank. Fortunately we were moving away from the island at great speed and there were other matters that required my attention. Things that I could do something about, make a difference.

The first order of business was to explore Legion’s chariot of the waves to see if any monsters lurked aboard. Fortunately the vessel was free of any such unpleasant surprises and the next task was to find out where it was taking us. In the room that lady Orlando had inserted the metal tablet was a panel with a miniature map of Théah.

That is the only way I can describe a map that is not simply drawn on paper, but is actually moulded as if by a master craftsman to represent the land, sea and major landmarks. On the far left were the islands of the Midnight Archipelago and some barrier that was slowly coming down. On the right was the Crescent Empire that we were rapidly cruising towards and on the other side of which was a compass shaped island.

The journey took several long and boring days during which the vessel appeared to skip across the waves of the sea and ripples of time and space. There were blurred moments of transition in which we appeared to be in the world and yet not. Anyway, the strange compass shaped island appeared to be our destination and I’m pretty sure that it was not there before Caligari’s island sank beneath the waves.

During the journey the imprisoned man revealed that he was Allende, a member of Brotherhood of the Coast. Some people claim that he is their leader, but the group would vehemently oppose any accusation that they had a leader who made decisions on behalf of others. Allende claimed that lady Orlando was Alesio, his first mate who was carried off by Caligari’s witches.

I could tell that lady Alison knew a great deal more than she was letting on, but it did not seem the right time to broach the subject. Perhaps it was the sadness that surrounded her as she thought of lord Pietro whom we left behind on Caligari island. Or perhaps it was the memories of the life that she lived before she was lady Alison. Regardless of which it was there was one thing that was clear - lady Alison had been a pawn played by someone more powerful and evil than her.

As we drew closer to the island it was plain to see that it was made out of metal. Seaweed and other bits of flotsam still lay strewn about. Coming the other way as we arrived was the Crimson Rogers who appeared to be in a hurry to leave. Whilst it’s nice to see the Crimson Rogers fleeing like a dog with its tail between its legs, it did make me wonder what awaited us at the island.

Docked several wharfs from ours was the Black Dawn whose crew were delighted to see us. They told us of their captain Bonnie McGhee confronting Reis with Sidhe enchanted Dracheneisen daggers. They had not seen her since she set off for their final confrontation and her crew were very restless.

We did a brief search of the nearby area but only managed to find Reis’ body, minus red coat and killing scythe. Father Alejandro gave him the final rites before we consigned his body to the deep. Lady Celadon, the first mate of the Black Dawn, was eager to leave as she did not believe that Bonnie would be coming back.

Having caught glimpses of things moving around the island and being in the presence of an entire artificial island, I was inclined to reluctantly agree. In the end we set sail with a heavy heart at the loss of Bloody Bonnie McGhee and raised a toast to wish her all the very best in whatever place she had gone to. Perhaps she had fallen to Reis’ scythe? Some of my companions even had the outlandish thought that she had become Reis. I preferred the simpler answer that she had been carried off by the Sidhe, or perhaps the servants of the Syrneth. Who knows, perhaps Theus had taken her up physically in heaven itself? Here’s to you Saint Bonnie.

“Relationship Merry-Go-Around”

It took four weeks to sail back to Dionna. During that time lady Alison withdrew somewhat, perhaps overcome with grief for lord Pietro or some misdeeds committed when she was Alesio. The ironic thing was that she asked me to keep an eye on lady Francine.

The woman with a past more murky than a the canals in Vodacce was asking me to keep an eye out on lady Francine. I couldn’t laugh, so instead I simply replied that I would do it. Who can fathom why she asked me to do this? Women, they are such delightful creatures of mystery, beauty and ecstasy.

Back in Dionna we immediately went to lord Pietro’s parents house were we found lord Pietro whole and healed from his ordeal with the Scarred man. Lady Alesio was overjoyed to see lord Pietro and at that moment I realised that she deserved another chance. Lord Pietro is a good friend and any woman that he chooses to love and who loves him in return whole-heartedly cannot be all bad. In fact, she has some very endearing qualities I’m sure.

Arranging a ship to Malacca was fairly straight-forward and we retired to an inn to rest and wait for the morning tide. Unfortunately we were not to enjoy a restful first night back on dry land after over a month at sea. We were awoken by lady Valentina Villanova and the lady courtesan Juliet in a very agitated state.

They refused to say exactly what was wrong, but there was no time for debates in any case. As one we rushed to docks and the slumbering ship that was awakened within moments. The captain was resentful of being woken up and reluctant to sail without the tide, but lady Alison can be very convincing. Especially when she pulls a large pouch of coins from her bodice.

Meanwhile in an alley nearby lady Valentine Villanova and the lady courtesan Juliet waited with yours truly. Initially they had insisted that they would wait alone whilst the ship was prepared but I refused to hear of it. My courage was put to the test when a familiar and menacing voice spoke softly: “Well, well what have we here?”

Standing in the alley with us was Prince Giovanni Villanova. To say that he was angry was like saying that the sun is hot, it was undisputable. However, he kept his rage in check like a winter sun. Cold, but with the potential for drying up the seas and scorching every living thing on Théah.

The lady courtesan Juliet whispered to me to guard lady Valentina which I promised to do with my life. I have to be honest with you. I was prepared to fight dearly with every drop of my blood for the safety of both women - but it did feel as if my life was measured in heartbeats; like the last grains of sand in an hour-glass.

Fortunately the lady courtesan Juliet had a number of tricks up her sleeve. That included a bodice dagger that she used to slash Prince Giovanni Villanova across the face. I heard the pop of his eyeball as it was destroyed but my body was already responding before I could take it all in. There we were running along the docks and my mind was still trying to take in the realisation that Prince Villanova had almost been killed.

Arrows, gun-shots and crossbow bolts flew past as I shielded lady Valentina with my body as we rushed for the departing ship. The lady courtesan Juliet was hot on our heels followed by Prince Villanova’s men. The Sidhe must have remembered me as I ran for not a single shot hit its mark. We leapt on board the departing ship and watched Prince Villanova get to the end of the wharf.

Prince Villanova lost it. He totally lost control for a few brief moments during which he killed several of his own men and raged like a man possessed. For a moment I thought that he would run across the waves propelled by the power of his rage. Had he done so I would not have been in the least bit surprised. It was spectacular thing to watch. Terrifying and heart-stopping, but spectacular none the less.

Was Prince Villanova raging about the fact that his wife and courtesan had secretly been friends for a long time? Or the fact that his wife had killed his sons using their own Fate strands. Yes, that is the terrible crime that the lady courtesan Juliet told us about as we sailed through the night.

It seems as though there is little that I can do that is right. I help to rescue a man from Caligari’s dungeons and he turns out to be a wanted man in the Brotherhood of the Coast. Add to that the fact that Caligari Island sinks and a Syrneth-spawned monstrosity rises on the east of the Crescent Empire. Then we help to save Prince Villanova’s wife and courtesan only to find out that one of them has committed infanticide on her own children. Theus save me from this madness that I have landed myself in.

Perhaps Theus did hear the prayers of this errant servant for there was some good news that day. Sir Axle proposed to lady Eponine, lady Francine’s sister, and she accepted.

We sailed away from Vodacce and will hopefully not return for a long time. The politics, schemes and secrets there are so thick that they hang over the whole country as a giant spider’s web. In fact, I have even been to the stronghold of the Tesseract that is indeed a tower constructed of living spiders.

Add to this the fact that Prince Villanova is unhappy about use aiding the escape of his lady wife and courtesan… well, it is safe to say that sailing back to Vodacce any time soon would be suicide. I feel the most sorry for lord Pietro after having gone back once and been accepted (albeit coldly and in an unpleasant fashion) by his family. It is unlikely that he’ll be able to go back at all.

Lady Orlando is another who will face great danger if she goes back and now that lady Alison’s past has been uncovered; it is unlikely that she will be welcomed back by the remnants of the Caligari family. All in all it is safe to say that we have been there and got the tabard.

As we were about to arrive in the harbour town of Malacca on the East coast of Castille, a Porte hold appeared above the deck and a Montaigne by the name of Alan Something du Something stepped out, followed by an Avalon man calling himself Richard. Of course, back at court in the Triple Kingdoms he goes by a different name and is one of the most famous musicians of his generation.

Alan Something du Something did not stay around for long and it was clear that he was acquainted by some of the others. ‘Richard’ was also known to some of the others of my travelling companions although it appears that they are completely unaware of his fame. Seeing their lack of adoration I soon realized that ‘Richard’ did not want his disguise revealed and so I played along as if I was none the wiser.

It was difficult at times to keep up the charade as I wanted Richard to know that I’d recognized him as a famous musician, but it was difficult at times. For example, when Sir Axle commented that Richard fought like a girl or when lord Pietro gave him a rose I was sure that Richard would instantly challenge them both to a duel. But instead he kept his calm and continued to speak in his dock-front accent laden with swear-words and innuendos.

In town we went to a tavern as lord Pietro mentioned in passing that he would not get a good reception at the Gallegos mansion. He and lady Alison went for a walk whilst the rest of us enjoyed a couple of pints of the local favourite. By this time lady Valentina and lady Juliet had already departed and it was time to decide where to go to next. I had business in Montaigne and when suggested, the others agreed that this would be a good destination.

When lord Pietro and lady Alison came back and Richard was given the rose things got a little out of hand and I could see that a bar brawl was brewing. A thrown mug, spilled pint and lady Alison leaping out of the way and landing in my lap. Well, I knew that things could either go very well or very badly.

Fortunately Richard put on a comic performance that had most people laughing heartily before he pretended to storm up the stairs. I have to say that as an actor he is quite accomplished but I am looking forward to him performing some music. Perhaps he and lady Alison could do a duet?

That night I slept badly and dreamt of a lady in tears. I could hear her sobbing in my dreams but could not find her in the labyrinth of passageways that made up my dreams. Both Sir Axle and I were awoken by Richard coming in to our room and I decided that since I was unlikely to get any further sleep to give up my bed for Richard.

There are approximately five hundred and seventy three bricks on the wall where the fireplace is in, at the inn that we were staying in. There were seventy six bottles of wine, rum and other beverages on display behind the bar and three of the chairs were missing a leg in the bar area. Thirteen people had scrawled their expressions of love for another person on, under or on the side of the bar tables. Two of which were for the same woman. Although she expressed her love for another on a table on the other side of the room.

These are the things that one discovers when one has many hours to wait until the morning arrives and there is little to do. At first light one of the barmaids came down the stairs, her head still clouded by sleep and her hair still dishevelled. I told the bleary eyed saucy strumpet that I would be going up to the Gallegos mansion - and that I would be grateful if she could tell my travelling companions. But alas, I fear that she did not remember a thing that I asked her.

The walk up the Gallegos mansion was very refreshing and the air was cleaner and fresher higher up the slopes. There was already some activity in and around the Hacienda and so I did not feel too guilty about calling so early. In fact lady Fiora was already up and about and was more than happy to welcome me inside.

We chatted about events in Vodacce and I told of her things going on in the wider world. It seemed as if she was very isolated up in the Hacienda without any of her lady friends. Yes, there was the staff and her husband around, but despite the fact that I was not as well acquainted with the lady Fiora as some of the others; she seemed very grateful for my company.

When I mentioned my strange dream of a lady in distress, she informed me that it was not her whom I’d seen in my dreams. Indeed if it had been her in my dream I would more than likely have remembered it. How could any man forget such a beautiful, serene and captivating lady? Surely Don Gallegos is the most fortunate man in all of Castille to be married to such a divine creature?

After awhile she invited me to bring the others along for a meal and it took a couple of rings of the servants bell before one finally arrived. He helped me to saddle a horse and ride back in to town. The question of why it had taken so long for any servant to arrive was bothering me, but I simply could not get over the fact how stunningly beautiful lady Fiora looked.

Once back in town I discovered that there had been some trouble at the inn and found lord Pietro washing away some worries in the sea. Richard was indulging in a bath attended by almost every barmaid in the inn and the others had done nothing to set matters aright. The serenity of the morning had been shattered and I told lord Pietro and lady Alison in no uncertain terms to stop squabbling in the street like a fisherman and his wife.

I told them of the invitation and as we walked to the hacienda I lent Richard the horse. I got the impression that he was somehow linked to the current quarrel between lord Pietro and lady Alison and therefore decided that whilst he was busy riding, the not-married-but-certainly-acting-like-it couple could argue undisturbed. Honestly I do not understand why lord Pietro puts up with her. Yes, she is a stunningly seductive woman but she has a temper that makes Queen Maab seem a demure nun in comparison.

Lord Pietro was dressed as a peasant when we got to the Hacienda. I don’t know whether this was an attempt at a disguise, some subtle insult or simply because he had nothing else to wear. Anyway, after lady Fiora and her husband had greeted all of us lord Pietro took the opportunity to tell me the stories surrounding the legendary Broom of Doom which lifted my spirits somewhat.