The Reluctant Captain’s diary
Entry 1
***The notes below are written in a consistent and neat handwriting but are evidently done by a person not used to recording a diary***
This shall be my diary of recent events. I should have liked to leave the recordings of the events of the Blackguards to those more apt in the arts of writing, but after what progressed yesterday I must make a record of my own as I am hoping this will help me gain order in my head and in my heart.
In the event something befalls me, I should like my friend Aerchanar to keep my notes as his love for anything recorded on paper would mean they had not been written in vain.
We had taken shelter at the Golden Perch, the rain had been mercilessly falling for many hours and we were drenched. I find these hobbit houses quirky but cosy, not at all a bad place to spend a rainy day. More so because the quality of food, I find, is significantly better than most places of men. Speaking of hobbits, our friend Cherdoc was not with us, he had gone hunting again. He is a sturdy and restless persona who cares not if it rains, so whilst we had sat down to discuss our advances into the Barrow Downs he was away.
Delessah, who is a seasoned traveller and to my astonishment seem to know people everywhere we go had spoken to the innkeeper in a familiar tone and in no time at all hot soup had been brought for us all and it warmed our souls. Davnos and myself were quick to get some ale on the table, but Master Delessah does not like ale it would seem and I wonder how I have never noticed before. I am learning new things about my comrades all the time.
As we eat a crimson-clad figure enters the room. The others do not recognise her, but I know her to be lady Mowren of our own order. I have met her before. She has been looking for us for a while and is happy to have found us. She hands me a letter, it’s from our leader, Aariond, he is summoning us to the Crimson Hall. Moreover, he is letting us know that due to unfortunate events in the Shire a redeployment of resources is needed and Davnos has been re-assigned from the Black Guard to the Crimson Guard with immediate effect as he will be their new leader. The latter bit of news brought a state of shock to me. I was in the military for years, I am trained to obey orders and to accept rank, but this was out of the blue, and even more so since Aariond was not the one who recruited Davnos, I did that myself. Davnos was meant to be the leader of the Black Guard, not me. I was just waiting for the opportune moment to hand over leadership and now it seems I hesitated too long, something that has become my trademark of late.
Aerchanar was visibly upset as well and my young elf friend also sought more information from Mowren. I tried to study Davnos but could not tell from his expression what he thought of it all. He seemed to immediately accept his fate, maybe he had wanted it all along? I shall perhaps find out, should our paths cross again, as we did not get much of a chance to say our farewells.
Mowren offered no further information, after all it was unfair to blame her who only had done what she was supposed to and brought us the message. Delessah went to speak to the innkeeper to leave a message for Cherdoc and pay for our food. After that, we rode through the night to get to Iscomb and the Crimson Hall.
On arrival Aariond, leader of the Crimson Brotherhood was there waiting for us. The hard ride there had failed to cool my emotions and instead I felt angry being summoned like this. I was irrational, perhaps, as I know in my heart that a leader’s duty is to assign the resources available to the places they are most needed but our company, all the companies of the Crimson Brotherhood, are not armies, but small groups of people depending largely on each other for the success of each mission and the Blackguards have already lost so many members we were only just beginning to find our feet working together as a team.
The conversation with Aariond was not an easy one, and I knew Aerchanar was as upset as I. For a brief time I wondered if this would mean the end for me with the Crimson Brotherhood as I felt ready to walk out the door and not return. I felt a close connection to Aerchanar, and was sure he would have walked with me. However, my mood did not improve as Master Delessah turned to casual conversation with Aariond about mundane things. But I know now that he did this, not to upset Aerchanar and me, but because he in his own usual way was trying to keep the balance right. I recognise now, that he was in an awkward situation, being a part of our alliance but not of the Crimson Brotherhood, yet he never failed to try and ease our situation, even if I did not see it like that at the time. I must remember to mention this to him.
The biggest turn of events for me personally came when Aariond announced a visitor from a noble house of Gondor, house Ravenclaw. Naturally I was mortified, but I tried not to let it show, as the oddest show I have seen in a long time played out before me. The guest was the new Lord of House Ravenclaw, keeping the seat whilst his nephew is waiting to come of age. Apparently, the nephew is the key person to all of this, as Aariond and Lord Ravenclaw have struck some sort of deal for the nephew, Teigon, to join the Crimson Brotherhood and, it was more than implied, the Black Guard. Things were unfolding so fast before my eyes that I could barely keep up. And whilst Delessah remained cool I could see Aerchanar had reached his limit as well, but this same moment Aariond announced it was time for him to leave and asked that we look after Teigon, getting him settled in. Aariond may be our leader, but he will have questions to answer when I meet him again.
The Lord Ravenclaw was no different from many Gondorian nobles, he was arrogant and brushed off our questions before introducing his young nephew. I could not help but wonder why on earth a noble house of Gondor, albeit a small one, would place the heir in the care of a military brotherhood far to the north. This does not add up. I may not be a historian, but I am a Gondorian and I know how my people, especially the nobles, view those who cannot trace their origin back to the Edain. Lord Ravenclaw left but young Teigon stayed with us so I asked him to go and fetch himself a meal, leaving me an opportunity to finally consult with my comrades. As it was, Delessah and Aerchanar both had their reservations about this Lord Ravenclaw, but Delessah noted he did not sense anything amiss with Teigon. As we all suspected, Lord Ravenclaws motivations for sending Teigon here could be a hope that the young heir would never come of age but would tragically lose his life far away from home. Aerchanar reminded us that these suspicions meant we have a duty to protect Teigon, but how can we keep him safe when our adventures are constantly leading us to battle?
I was still hesitant, especially as brining another Gondorian into our group means I have to watch what information I share about myself. Moreover, I would be keen to find out if Aerchanar will be able to see something in his visions that could help us decide if this young noble can follow our path. Delessah kindly offered that his friend, Lord Olartin, could spend some time with the lad, as he would be able to see the true heart of this young man. I halfway wanted to ask if this Lord Olartin could have a look at our leader Aariond as well, to determine his motives for taking this deal. Is he that desperate for coin? I said nothing though, I had already uttered my displease with Aariond several times that night and was coming dangerously close to being disobedient. It was time to put a lid on that and not open it until I had had some time to cool down.
In the end, we spoke to Teigon and he seemed a pleasant young man. He mentioned he knows how to fight, using a sword and a shield, which would increase his chances of survival for sure! Delessah will take Teigon to meet Lord Olartin and Aerchanar has taken upon himself the heavy task of finding Cherdoc and letting him know all of what has happened. As such, I am left now to my own thoughts, writing this in the Combe and Wattle Inn whilst waiting for my loyal companion Othar to show. I shall be keen to find out what he knows about this house Ravenclaw…
Here ends the first part....
