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Diary Entry #1, Age 8, Month of Sunsets
E gave me this to practice writing on, but I don't know what to put down
so I'll just talk about what happened today. A big rat got in the hole
by the front door so ma put a big brick in between it to keep them staying
out where they belong. We had red roots for supper with green things
on top from one of the far-off places across the sea but they were real
bitter, but it was okay with butter on them. Ma roasted them on fire.
After that I had to start working on copying out these books E gave me
for selling later. My hand hurts from writing so much, so I'm going to
stop now.

Diary Entry #2, Age 8, Storms
Snow's pretty much gone now, good riddance. Still some ice stuck on the
shadow spots where the sun doesn't reach. I caught a big rat trying to
push the brick out of the hole but I shooed it off with ma's broom. The
whole area just outside the brick is full of rat tracks, so maybe he'll
be back later? I cracked the big bottle of ink E gave me, but I got
some more. One of the butchers gave me red ink and another one gave me
some sticky tar. I stuck the jar together and then dipped it in the tar
and waited for hours and hours until it was dry and stuck together. Can't
tell E or she might get mad.

Diary Entry #3, Age 8, Melting
Getting warmer, but I can't go outside and play. E an ma say I'm old
enough now that I got to be earning my living by working, so I'm going
to be staying in and writing these boring books. I don't even know
what half the words mean. It's boring and my hand hurts. Lots of rat
dung just outside the door now by the big brick, and it has claw and
bite marks on it. I wonder what they're trying to do? Stupid rats. Ma
put down a big trap inside just in case. Now that it's getting on to
spring we got fruit to eat, bananas. Yellow. Everyone looks really
like they want our yellow bananas because theirs are all black, but
they can't have them, E said not to give them any.

Diary Entry #4, Age 8, Month of Flowers
Something petty weird happened today. Ma an I were out shopping and
one of the merchants tried short-changing ma real bad. He wanted to
give her back three coins when he really was owing her ten, I counted
in my own head because I can do figures real well. Anyways, ma was
arguing when E came along and the merchant looked real pale, like he
just saw a ghosty. So then he gives ma twenty coins and tells her to
come back whenever she likes. More importantly, we got some real cow
meat instead of the fat wharf rats. Ma made up sandwiches, and we
took the bones out to make it into a big stew with the herbs E brought
for us. More writing books tonight, these ones were about gems.

Diary Entry #5, Age 8, Summertide
It's getting real hot inside lately and E's over a lot more than she
is normally, so I've got to play outside more because of the heat and
E. I'm not allowed to go very far on my own so I played in the little
alley around behind the house. I found some rocks so I tried playing
Zhent and Bandit by setting them up fightin and all but a big fat rat
ate the pieces and ran away before I could hit him with a stick to get
them back. These stupid rats really bug me. If any more come around
they'll sure be sorry.

Diary Entry #6, Age 8, Highsun
We caught a burglar trying to get into the house! It was real late
at night but I was still up late working with the candle, and ma was
tying up some roots to dry in the back where my bed is. Ma saw the
burglar trying to bust in the door and she hit him real hard with the
rat brick, but he got away. Next day, E came over and when ma told
her about the burglar she stood outside all night the next night. Ma
told me to go to bed early but I stayed awake and heard some weird
noises, like the noise at the butcher shop. I wanted to see if there
was anything out there the next day but there was nothing. Ma looked
like she got up real early.

Diary Entry #7, Age 8, Fading
I'm the rat queen! Diary, let me explain. There was this big old
fat rat who bit right through the rat brick and squeezed his fat
body into the hole, while ma was out shopping and I was in the house
alone. It ran right up and grabbed the quill E gave me, so course I
had to go after it. I took ma's broom and chased it clear across the
whole neighbourhood until I cornered it. It was big. Fat. Its red
eyes were glarey and it had blood on its claws.

It hissed like an angry alley cat and tried to claw me, because it
had the quill in its mouth, but I put up my broom just in time! Snap!
Snap! The broom snapped in half, but it was all jaggedy. I wasn't
sure what to do, but then I remembered what E told me an I jabbed it
with the pointy end real hard. There was a lot of blood and the rat
shook a lot and made weird noises, but then it stopped moving so I
grabbed my quill and ran home before ma got mad.

Diary Entry #8, Age 8, Leafall
It's getting on cold again like summer's almost over, so we've got to
wear double cloaks inside and outside to keep from getting frosted
over. The neighbours are grumbling about it being harder to catch
fat rats for supper but E brought us over a big basket of extra fish
and stag meat, so ma and I salted them and put them in a big chest to
keep us the rest of the winter. A few people were mad about all the
food we had, but ma just told them about E and they backed off again.

Diary Entry #9, Age 8, The Rotting
E visited today, and after she left ma found me outside and we went
to buy a new rake and a broom, so I had to sweep up all the leaves
outside which took forever and was a real bore. I thought I saw a
big fat rat out of the corner of my eye but when I turned to look it
had run off again, probably scared of having the same thing happen
to it what happened to the other one. I saw some of our neighbours
leaving some coins on their doorsteps for some reason, but ma never
does that at our house. One time someone else forgot to leave their
money out too and the next morning their house burned up in a big
fire. It was all smokey and it made the whole neighbourhood smell
like roasting meat.

Diary Entry #10, Age 8, the Drawing Down
E brought over a big sack of coins today for us to last the rest of
the winter and ma worked with her inside all day, so I had to stay
outside the whole time and it was really cold. I ran around a lot
to keep warm and made a drawing of a boat on a piece of parchment
to give to E but she said it looked real bad and that she was going
take it and throw it in the garbage or burn it later. Stupid boat
drawing. I had to work extra long before I could go to bed but Ma
made us some fish and turnip stew for supper.

Diary Entry #11, Age 8, Deepwinter
Cold cold cold today. We have to wear our cloaks all the time now,
inside and out, but E hasn't been visiting quite as often so I don't
have to go outside as much. I've been working real hard on getting
more books written so we could get a few extra coins and buy some
thicker blankets. There's ice all outside the house so whenever we
leave we have to be careful we don't slip. The other day I slipped
and broke a little statue thing of some woman E gave me to see and
she got real mad and hurt me real bad. Ma gave me some cold ice from
outside to put on the hits.

Diary Entry #12, Age 8, Claw of Winter
E came over and stayed with us all day, and she brought us a big
pig to eat for Winterfest. I was even allowed to stay in the house
all day, and E brought a wooly training dummy for me to practice
stabbing with a big dagger she had. I thought it was a sword at
first but she said I was stupid and that it was only a dagger. But
she said I was real good at stabbing for a girl my age so I stabbed
it a lot more to show off. After, we had a big supper and I ate as
much as I could. I went to bed early and when I woke up E was gone
and ma was cleaning the dishes.

You can't stop. I'm invested now!

Thanks, thanks!

Diary Entry #13, Age 9, Month of Sunsets
It's been a whole year since I started writing these I guess, or that's
what it says at the start of the book anyways. It's around the time I
was born, so ma says I'm going to be nine this year. Ma bought me a
kitten to play with but when I put it outside it got bitten at by a rat a
bunch. I hate rats. Kitty's got cuts all over, but ma helped me wash
her off and bandage them. E bought me a new dagger to practice
stabbing with, and she let me keep the wooly training dummy by my
bed so I can stab it whenever I want.

Diary Entry #14, Age 9, Storms
Diary, I made a new friend today! He's my first friend, and his name
is Tor. He always looks real scared when we're playing, but he's fun
to play with. His ma looks really worried too, and I don't really
know why. It doesn't matter. We went to play down by the docks and
saw some people taking crates off a ship, and they gave us both a
shiny copper coin if we didn't tell anyone. I bought some candy with
mine and Tor took his back to his ma to buy a carrot or something.

Diary Entry #15, Age 9, Melting
Today, Tor and I were playing near the docks again and we found a
really long box with a weird lock on it that was all broken open. In
the box there was a really bad smell, and the inside of it had marks
on it like rat claws. We carried it all the way home and ma said it
was a coughing box. Anyways, I cleaned it all up and I used a bit of
the coins I got from E to buy some hinges which I nailed in using the
hilt of my dagger. I cut my hand up a bit by accident, but ma gave
me bandages so now I match kitty. Now it's done I have a chest for
all my things to go in.

Diary Entry #16, Age 9, Month of Flowers
E made me stay in all day today making weird drawings for her. So
boring. What does she even want these for, anyways? She made me do
the same type of drawing over and over again until I got one that was
good enough for whatever she wants it for. So I got really behind
on my writing out books and I had to stay up late, but ma stayed up
with me too and kept the lantern lit for me, and she made me some
tasty fried apple slices on the fire. E brought me a shiny bottle
full of dust to say thanks, and we emptied it out and put flowers in
it so I could put it on my new chest.

Diary Entry #17, Age 9, Summertide
E hasn't punched on me in a long time, even though she's been here a
lot since it's in summer. Yesterday she spent nearly a whole hour
showing me how to proper gut someone with my wooly training dummy.
After we were done I had to put all the straw back in and ma helped
me sew it back up and I made a shiny red cloak for him. I made a
collar for kitty and tied a long rope to it so I could take her out
for walks without her running away and getting bitten on by rats.

Diary Entry #18, Age 9, Highsun
E has been around a lot this summer, so Tor and I have been playing
outside a lot too. Today we went down to where the smiths were making
new nails and horseshoes and watched them. It was really smoky, and
it made it really hard to see, but I liked the sparks. I kept hoping
one of the sparks would catch and start a big fire, but it never did
happen. When they went for lunch I snuck up close and moved around
some of the tools, and when everyone came back I told one of the them
that I saw one of the other ones taking things. They had a big fight
and we snuck off, and when we came back the next day the one I pointed
at was gone.

Diary Entry #19, Age 9, Fading
Kitty's got stronger now, and she's been alive long enough to get a
real name, E said, so we decided to call her Bandages, because she
had the bandages on her for so long. E said people like to read
more in the winter, so I have to work extra hard now making books so
the books are ready for people to read. This month I've been working
on books which are all about different types of armour, which look
very strong. I'd like to have my own armour, and then the rats wouldn't
be able to nibble on me or they'd get all their teeth knocked out by
metal.

I bundled up all the books I'd finished tonight and tied them with a
string and left them in the coughing chest where E picks them up from
now. Ma said I did extra good and gave me some caramel candies. I
was going to save some and give them to Tor but E said I wasn't allowed
to do that. These were my candies. So I ate them all, which was good
because they're really tasty.

Diary Entry #20, Age 9, Leafall
Ma gave me some extra coins because I've been working extra hard, so
I went back down to where the smiths were working and I bought a little
hammer from them. I found some pieces of old metal and brought them
back home too, and then I hit the metal with my hammer just like the
smiths were doing back at the fireplaces. But something didn't work
too well and I wasn't able to bend it much. I tried to bend the metal
into armour for Bandages, and then I tied it to her with a bit of rope,
but I don't think she liked it because she made a really loud cry and
got cut on a sharp piece when she tried shaking it off. E hit me when
she had to help take it off and now Bandages has more bandages on again.

Diary Entry #21, Age 9, The Rotting
It's getting cold again, so I can't play outside as much anymore, and
I have to do more work. Ma's been teaching me how to cook a little,
and so she had me help her make supper today. She sent Tor and me to
pick up some vegetables and meat from the shops, and while we were out
there we got one of the guards to let us take turns swinging in the
swingy cage hanging up over the market. When we got back, Tor had to
go home and ma showed me how to use a frying pan, carefully to avoid
burning myself on the fire. I burned myself a bit, but ma put
something on it to cool it.

Diary Entry #22, Age 9, the Drawing Down
It's getting on to winter again, so the area around my bed is piled
up with firewood for the fireplace, and everything's covered with
pieces of bark. E bought me some new winter clothes to wear that are
really warm and nice. A few nights ago we had our first snow so Tor
and I went out to play snowball fighting and I accidentally hit him
with a chunk of ice. I tried sewing up the cut like you sew up cloth
but it just started to bleed even more and he ran home.

Diary Entry #23, Age 9, Deepwinter
Now it's winter the rats are trying to break into our house again
because they want to be in out of the cold and where our food is.
I used the sharp dagger E gave me to cut on them and then ma took
out the bones and salted the meat and dried them, and she spiced it
with some spices that E brought for us. I haven't seen Tor in a
while, but ma says he probably won't be allowed to come out and
play all winter because it's too cold out. I made a snowman and
practiced throwing icicles into his eyes.

Diary Entry #24, Age 9, Claw of Winter
It's the end of the second year since I got you, diary, and looking
back there are all kinds of things that have happened. At winterfest,
E was even nicer than she was last year. She bought us a huge feast
to eat, and this time I didn't even ask to share with Tor or Tor's ma.
We ate as much as we could, and we gave some to Bandages too. E took
me outside and practiced punching on me while I punched on her. Even
though it was cold out I didn't notice it much because we were moving
so fast, and the blood on my chin was warm. After, E gave me a handful
of copper to go out and buy some things while her and ma stayed at
home, so I bought a caramel cod and a coat for Bandages. She fussed,
but now she's warmer.

E took me outside and practiced punching on me while I punched on her

This is like a script to horror movie, though Excellent!

This is fantastic, I hope you continue.

Thanks for your kind words!

Diary Entry #25, Age 10, Month of Sunsets
Dear Diary, it's the third year since I got you. You're starting to
get real full now so I'll have to get ma or E to buy me a new one soon.
It's still pretty cold and mushy out, so I've been staying in more and
ma's been helping me practice sewing. It's boring, but I guess it's
better to be able to sew my own buttons off if they fall off while I'm
playing. Ma gave me a sewing kit with needles and extra buttons which
I put in the coughing chest at the end of my bed.

E told me the coughing chest is a bed for the funny drippy people
who shuffle around a lot and go 'URRRRR' and make weird noises and then
their arms fall off sometimes. Also, still haven't seen Tor in a long
time. I'll go over to speak to Tor's ma next month when the ice dies.

Diary Entry #26, Age 10, Storms
I went around to Tor's house today, and his ma looked real nervous when
she saw me. She said Tor hasn't been around home in a long time, and
couldn't tell me where he was staying. So I went looking for him around
outside their house, but I couldn't find anything important. I asked
some of the other people if they'd seen him, and one of them said they'd
seen him near the docks, so I went down there to look.

There was no signs of Tor on the docks right away, but a sailor told
me about a bad person who's been taking children away and killing them
real dead. I lurked around the water's edge until I found some weird
prints in the mud and when I chased them down into a garbage pile, I
found Tor. He wasn't moving, and there were lots of cuts on him in a
pretty pattern. I tried punching him, but he didn't wake up. I brought
him back to his ma and she cried and went inside. I'm really mad now.
Whoever broke Tor is going to get stabbed on really really hard.

Diary Entry #27, Age 10, Melting
Now that I'm ten, E said I need to get a real job, aside from what I'm
doing with writing out those books, so ma took me down to the docks. I
got a job with the port, counting the contents of crates. The hardest
part is remembering which things I'm supposed to count and which things
I'm not supposed to. The dockman gave me a list of things which I'm
not supposed to see.

When I'm at work I spend most of my time in the office where it's dry
and there's nobody to talk to, but on the way there I always ask and
look around for hints on where the one who broke Tor went. So far
I haven't found anyone, but there's an old man in a big coat who's
watching me I'm pretty sure. I told E, but he's staying back for now.

Diary Entry #28, Age 10, Month of Flowers
I made a new tool for work today by taking a flat bit of wood, then I
stabbed hole in it, and a hole in a big bundle of parchment, and I
tied them together with a metal loop. I put a candle on top of the
flat wood, and a pot of ink which is attached to the wood with a bit
of tar so it stays in place. Now I can write while I'm standing up
without having to put my parchment down on anything, so it takes me
less time to count all the things that need counting.

Also, E told me today about (the rest of this sentence is blotted
out with a thick line of ink). He's my (more ink), and ma isn't my
real mother. My real mother (another thick bar of ink). I wonder
if (yet more ink that goes on for another line and a half). Some
day I might find out.

Diary Entry #29, Age 10, Summertide
E was really, really mad today. She grabbed my journal and started
to rub ink all over parts of it where I'd written stuff, and said
I wasn't allowed to write that kind of thing down in case someone
came and read it. She hit me a lot, until I decided to lay down
and pretend to be sleeping, then kept hitting me until I was asleep
for real. Ma woke me up, but I don't know how much later it was.

E was already gone, but ma gave me some soup and wrapped me up with
bandages and things. It hurts to write, so I'm going to stop now.

Diary Entry #30, Age 10, Highsun
E was only gone for a few days before she came back, and she didn't
say anything about what happened last time, so I didn't ask, and
everything seems like it's back to normal. She brought with her a
big basket of candies for ma and I, which were full of different
things. Lots of sweet candies but more sour candies. She even
went to my boss and told him I didn't have to work today, so I was
able to spend all day lounging at home and eating candy with ma
and E.

E taught me a few new tricks for avoiding being stabbed up, and how
to kick someone really hard in the knee, where it hurts a lot. She
also told me that we're supposed to call our family name Essraul,
which means something but I'm not sure what.

Diary Entry #31, Age 10, Fading
I did some more searching around by the garbage heap where I found
Tor today. I made a helmet out of a bird cage for my head, so the
crows that fly around there couldn't peck at my eyes. Looking a bit
more, I found a cave you can get into when the tide is low. I went
in a bit, but there were a lot of rats with glinty red eyes, so I
went back out again before they saw me.

When I went out of the cave again, I saw the old man who had been
following me. He told me that he knew I was looking for the person
who'd been killing all those other kids, and he was going to help
me kill them. I thought about getting E to stab him up for being
weird, but for now I guess I'll go along with him. He's going to
teach me how to kill the person who killed Tor.

Diary Entry #32, Age 10, Leafall
E found my cage helmet and took it and broke it, saying it was dumb
and that I should stop playing with stupid things like that. So
I'm going to scrap my ideas to make armour out of old barrels. I
did buy a thick cloak with some of the money I've been keeping under
my pillow, thick enough to block nasty rat claws, and then today
after work I went to see the old man.

I learned more about the old man. His name is Fogerty and he knows
something about the murderer but he won't tell me what it is just
yet. He's holding back. But he taught me how to make a shiv from
a piece of bone using any sort of stone or brick surface to sharpen
it. He's showing me how to fight with a knife, quick and dirty,
going for the thigh and the waist, where I can get at easy because
of my size. Once I catch up to the person who broke Tor they're
going to get it right in the.. Not that I liked Tor much. But it's
important you don't let people take from you. E said, never let
anyone take anything, or they'll know you're real weak and take
everything. I'm definitely not weak.

Diary Entry #33, Age 10, The Rotting
While we were shopping in the market today one of the priests ran
in screaming something weird. All the guards circled around him,
then he shrieked more and turned with magic into some kind of dog
or something, with weird animal horns on his head. His claws made
all kinds of sparks when he slashed and cut and bashed the guards
who were trying to capture him, and ma made me stay far far away
while they were fighting, and eventually they got him stuck with a
pile of spears.

Afterwards, everyone lined up to spit on his corpse, and they put
his weird awful beasty head on a big stick and burned the rest of
the body in a big bonfire in the market square near the swingy
cages.

Diary Entry #34, Age 10, the Drawing Down
E was in a very good mood when she came home today. She had a big
bag full of presents for ma and me. I got a new hair band and E got
me a knife to practice with, but she said I'm only allowed to have
it when she's around and she'll keep it on her the rest of the time.
The knife is really mine though, and it has my name engraved on the
handle part. She got ma a new dress, and some other clothes too,
that they didn't let me see.

After we opened our presents, E took us out to the market and we
got to pick what we wanted to eat. I picked out a big crab, so we
had a chef make it into a crab dip, and made crab soup, too. We had
a big loaf of bread oozey with cheese to dip in them both, and ma
picked out some kind of bird for us to eat. We stuffed ourselves,
then E took me out back of the house to practice fighting a bit with
my new knife against a straw man she brought. It was the best day
this year. I'm getting good at aiming for the weak spots.

Diary Entry #35, Age 10, Deepwinter
Today's been a pretty quiet month, all around. There isn't as much
work to do on the docks because shipping is slower in winter, so
ma and I are staying inside more and I'm doing more of the writing
and copying books. I'm working on making lots of prayer books,
working late every night to get them out. They're all about the
usual sorts of boring prayers you hear all the time outside.

I didn't see much of the old man this month, because I haven't been
much at the docks and he never leaves them. I've been starting to
practice my beats by punching up and hitting with ma's frying pan
the rats which live around outside the house, even some of the big
ones that are the size of cats. I made a sharp bone by sharpening
it on the big stone ma put in the rat hole, and I hid it in my new
cloak.

-E took the bone away from me the next day.

Diary Entry #36, Age 10, Claw of Winter
It's Winterfest again, but it doesn't feel as interesting as it did
last year. There's a lot fewer market stores this year, for some
reason, and there haven't been any jugglers or singers, just a few
old priests going around to people's houses and asking them a lot
of questions. Ma spoke with them for a few minutes, too, but not too
long. E didn't have time to come and have supper with us this year,
so we just bought a few thing with the coins we had saved up. We
had some turnip soup and a bit of dried fish.

The rats are really trying hard to get into the house now. It's
always like this when it's cold, but usually they scurry off after
a bit. A few days ago ma and I found a bunch of them who had stayed
so long they froze to death, and even after ma put down a bunch of
sharp metaly traps I can still hear them scratching on the walls
every night.

Diary Entry #37, Age 11, Month of Sunsets
It's a new year, and a new diary. My old one is stored away for
now, and maybe I'll burn it in the fireplace later. Now that I'm
eleven E said I have to spend less time playing around and more
learning about things I'll need to know for when I'm an adult.
She's started giving me lessons about different gods and what sort
of things they like and dislike. It's not too important now, but
when the time comes we'll all have to know a little about them to
stay safe.

I'm working less on writing things out these days, since E is
giving me lessons when I used to do that. I still have to go work
at the docks, and I met Foggy a few times. He's been showing me
the right way to stab someone in the ankle, from behind right where
you cut the right spot that makes them unable to stand up and walk.
It's good for bigger people, because then you can get away and hit
them with rocks before they can catch you and give you beats.

Diary Entry #38, Age 11, Storms
I met another kid my age while ma and I were out shopping today.
His name's Jacob, and his pa and ma have a shop in town which they
were coming to check up on, even though they live in a far away
place all the rest of the time. The shop's doing real bad because
all the people who were running it were taken away for some reason,
and now Jacob and his ma and pa have to stay for a few months so
they can set things right again.

Ma said Jacob and I should be friends, so she gave us some coppers
to buy candy and sent us into the market to play. He doesn't seem
scared and skittish like Tor always was, so it's more fun to play
with him. He's staying in a small house they've got rented which
is just outside the docks and is real nice, with lots of furniture
from far away. Jacob said most of it's from Waterdeep, which is
lots bigger and has more shops.

Diary Entry #39, Age 11, Melting
E's in a pretty good mood as far as things go, so she was around
and gave ma some extra coins so we could buy a few extra things
for supper today. Ma and I went and bought a bunch of vegetables
and some other things for making a stew, and then she taught me
how to use the stew pot. She taught me how to set it up and how
to set the fire under it, and how long to stir the stew and cook
it until it's thick. Ma says the secret is adding potatoes to
make the whole stew thick and stick together so it isn't watery.
We added some fish, which ma says burns easy, so we had to fry
that and then add it to the stew after, to make it so it doesn't
fall apart, too.

Anyways, after all that we had a big pot of stew to eat, and E
came back and ate it with us. After that, I went back to my
job at the docks for a bit and made a few extra copper writing
up lists. Easier than normal, less work. One of the captains
forgot to pay all the guards so they punched holes in his boat.

Diary Entry #40, Age 11, Month of Flowers
Jacob had a great idea today! He said he missed talking to all
his friends in Waterdeep, so we decided we were going to make a
new business with courier pigeons. But there aren't any pigeons
we can use. That's why I said we should use bats. There are a
lot of bats that come out at night, so it was real easy for us
to catch some in a big net. I made some cages out of wooden
bits and scraps we found around the docks and Jacob caught the
bats with the net.

After we got them we tried teaching them how to go back and
forth between us using treats, but it was pretty hard to get
them to know where to go. Bats sure are dumb. It took almost
the whole month but I think we managed to get the bats to know
our houses so at least we can send messages to each other.

Diary Entry #41, Age 11, Summertide
The rats are back! Not as big as the one I killed before with
ma's broom, but there are a lot more of them. They pushed at
the rock that was blocking the hole and got it out of the way,
then they all ran in at once and were all over the place! We
tried getting them out, but there were too many and we had to
run outside, so I grabbed Bandages tight to keep her being bit
on by all the rats. We stayed outside for a few hours before
E came back and when ma told her about all the rats she got
very mad and went inside and slashed and cut them. When she
came out, she was mad with ma, and yelled at her lots, and then
she said we'd have to clean up the blood and rat bits and left.

Ma and I cleaned up all the rat bits, but it was really weird.
I don't think ma noticed, but the rats were covered with a bit
of weird markings under their fur, and they all had their eyes
pulled out so I don't know how they could see or anything.

Diary Entry #42, Age 11, Highsun
I was real busy this month, working extra long hours at the
docks and with the writing E left me, which she brought lots
at a time because we haven't seen her as much as we did last
year so far. I got to speak to Foggy again and when I told
him about the rats he got really quiet for a long time, and
just when I thought he'd fallen asleep (he's old) he told me
about a witch who has a friend who can control rats real well,
just like the rats ma and I saw.

Foggy said the witch lives near the docks, and she might be
the one who killed Tor, so I've got to get ready if I'm going
to fight her. He said we need to kill her friend first, who's
some kind of flying bat monster called an imp. He told me not
to worry, but that he'll come up with a plan to make a trap
or something. I'll give him a bit of time, then I'm going to
go after this imp thing on my own. Who needs old people?

Diary Entry #43, Age 11, Fading
Jacob sent me a letter today, and it really worked! His bat,
who he named Stella, brought it over to me when I held out a
treat for her. I named my bat Isabella, so they match. We
met up while my ma and Jacob's pa were shopping in the market
and snuck away to take the bats with us to go and explore by
the water. Sometimes you can find things that were thrown
ashore by the tide, things like broken old crates or bodies.

Jacob and I found some fat mice to feed to the bats, then we
went searching for rusty metal bits and wooden things I can
use to make more useful things out of. I hid them away in
the coughing chest after I got home, and ma didn't get back
for a while after that because she'd been looking for me in
the market. She gave me a candy for not telling E about it,
so maybe I'll have to try doing that again later.

Diary Entry #44, Age 11, Leafall
The other day, an old friend of ma's showed up at the house.
He was older and scruffy, and he smelled like a bar, and
he seemed to know ma really well for some reason even though
she seemed pretty shy around him. He gave me a drink from
a metal flask which burned my throat a lot and made me feel
dizzy and weird, then E came in just a minute later and when
she saw ma's friend she got real mad and punched him real
hard in the mouth, then she made him leave, and she made ma
go out too, for the night.

I stayed in, and I played with Bandages a bit. I went out
behind the house to play with Isaballa, because E doesn't
like having her inside, and there were a lot of rats. They
tried biting at me, but I shook them off and ran back in,
and they couldn't get in because I had fixed up the rat hole
earlier in the month with more bricks and a special brace to
keep it strong and closed. E said I shouldn't be so scared
of weak rats, but there were a lot of them. It's so weird
that there are so many rats, but it must be the imp. I
didn't tell E about it because she'd just go and kill it by
herself, but I'm big enough to fight too.

Diary Entry #45, Age 11, The Rotting
I'm tired of waiting for Foggy to come up with a good trap
to kill the imp, so I made my own trap. I took the blankets
from ma's room and sewed them up like ma taught me, until it
was a big solid net with rocks in it so it's really heavy.
Oh, and I used some lacy (A black bar of ink covers out the
rest of the sentence). Once it was all ready I went outside
and tied the net over some poles behind the house, then I
waited and waited, prentending to be sleeping.

After what felt like forever and ever the rats started to
show up, so I had to wake up and I started kicking at them
and pushing them back with my broom. I did that a long time
too before the imp finally showed up to fight me. It flew
in and made weird noises and things, so I knocked over the
poles real hard with my boots, which sent the trap down on
top of him. The blanket was laden down by the rocks I
sewed into it, so it trapped him, then I took a big rock
and I bashed the lump in the blanket until it stopped
trying to get out.

Diary Entry #46, Age 11, the Drawing Down
I thought E would be proud that I killed the imp all by
myself, but she was just mad, and she made me clean up the
bloody bits all by myself, which got it all over my clothes
too. I tasted it, just on my finger, and it was coppery,
and kind of gross. Anyways, after that E said that I must
not have enough work to do so she started bringing a lot
more books for me to copy every day. I haven't been able
to go outside and play for the whole month, and it's going
to be deepwinter soon so I won't be able to then, either.

At least I have Bandages to keep me company. Apart from
bringing me new books to copy E hasn't been by much this
month. Ma has been teaching me how to cook more, too, and
she said we should try and make E feel better by making her
a really good meal and giving her some kind of gift, so I'm
working on drawings for her now.

Diary Entry #47, Age 11, Deepwinter
I finished my drawings for E, but she just said they were
bad and not worth even keeping. She took them and said she
was going to just burn them up later. E's visiting less, and
ma and I have less money, so we aren't able to stock up on
supplies as often. I had to go down to the water and pick up
as much wood and other bits as I could so ma and I could burn
it up in the fireplace to warm up the house.

I'm getting much better at copying out books, and I can do it
lots faster than I could when I just started. I know a lot
more words now, too, so I can read the meaning of more of the
books I'm copying. The last book I copied out was all about
how to be faithful and loyal to your betters. Boring stuff.

Diary Entry #48, Age 11, Claw of Winter
It's around Winterfest, but we haven't seen E the whole month
so we don't have much money, apart from what we've saved up
for emergencies. I don't have any more books to copy, and the
docks are really quiet this time of year because there aren't
as many ships coming in, so we've had to really try hard to
get everything we need. I went down to the water to pick up
scraps of wood and metal bits, then I used my hammer and some
bits I had saved up earlier to make traps so we could catch
some of the rats. After that, ma and I salted the rat meat and
hung it from the rafters so we could store it for stewing.

Everything's been so quiet, I've started noticing differences
around the house lately. Our neighbours are hardly ever out of
their houses, even for winter, and everything's quiet, like the
whole neighbourhood is holding its breath at once. Weird.

Diary Entry #49, Age 12, Month of Sunsets
I'm twelve now. Ma said, in just a few years I'll have to be
able to live on my own, and E probably won't be giving me any
help, either. Especially since we haven't seen her all this
month, just like the last. I decided I have to start working
on some more serious things, so ma and I went down to the docks
and we pulled out a big piece of stone. Once I got it home, I
attached a wooden stand to it. It was real hard, and we had
to work together. I used some ropes and attached a foot pedal,
so I could turn the stone with the pedal and use it to grind
and sharpen metal things. Ma and I are sharpening knives and
other tools now for a bit of extra copper.

I went to visit Jacob not too long ago, too. His family is
still in the city, even though they had planned to leave before
winter even started. They have a lot of holy symbols in their
store so everyone knows how faithful they are, but something's
still not going well. Jacob said his father isn't able to get
things into the city that they need for selling, and when I was
at work I checked the shipping list and saw a symbol next to his
father's name. It was a symbol of a cut off head.

Diary Entry #50, Age 12, Storms
It's been a while since I killed the imp, and without E around
so much, Foggy's been continuing to teach me how to fight. It
was a special day today, though. He said I was strong enough
now, I had proven myself, and he made me a full member of the
Strangling Eels. Normally there'd be a big party, but all we
ended up doing was eating a bunch of eel cooked with some kind
of thick sweet and spicy sauce.

He gave me a ring, afterwards, which is shaped like a wriggling
eel, made of copper. I brought it to the pawn shop, but they
said it was completely worthless so I just kept it. I've got it
hidden away in my coffin chest for now, hidden under a blanket.
Anyways, Foggy told me that he's getting really close to tracking
down the witch. I have to be ready, because any day now he'll
show me where her lair is and we'll go in to kill her together.
I have a new bone knife I made, and the thick cloak I bought so
long ago. I'll be ready for it.

Diary Entry #51, Age 12, Melting
A few days ago Foggy found me while I was working and told me
he'd discovered the witch's lair. I got my cloak on and put
my dagger in my belt and I went with him down to the place near
the water where I found Tor's body two years ago. There was a
hidden door near the garbage pile which lead into an old blocked
off part of the sewers. I followed Foggy. It felt like hours
before we found the witch's lair.

Foggy told me to go ahead and end it. The witch was standing
in the middle of the dark room cradling a tiny skull, like it
belonged to a baby. There were bones all underneath her and
the place smelled of blood and filth. I approached her slowly
and she didn't see me until I got real close. She shrieked and
babbled some crazy talk about wanting to trade me for her baby
or something like that, and I stabbed at her! She was bleeding
all over, but she hit me with some kind of really painful magic
spell that burned like fire. I stabbed her in the neck so many
times she stopped moving, but the magic hurt a lot. I'm not
really sure what Foggy was doing, but I think I heard his voice
somewhere distantly. Was he chanting?

I was tired afterwards. So tired. Foggy tried to hide it, but
I could see he was crying when I came out. He lead me back out
to the docks but then he went back into the tunnel before I left.
I thought I'd be badly scorched by the magic after all of that,
but I got away with just a few bruises.

Diary Entry #52, Age 12, Month of Flowers
(The following entry was scratched out and rewritten several times)

E was right. Everyone betrays you sooner or later.

Ma betrayed me. Foggy betrayed me.

Foggy's dead now. He came for me while I was on my way to work
in the docks. I got away and ran, and E cut him down in a flash.
I don't know what she knows. I told her that he was a mugger.

Ma wasn't waiting for us when we got home. E said that ma tried
hiring some goons to kill her and me. Can't trust any of them.

It's just me and E now, she's right over there as I write this.
She's looking at me weirdly. I should go to bed for now.


Diary Entry #53, Age 12, Summertide
E stayed on for a few more days, and she made me quit my job at
the docks. She stared at me constantly for a while, while I was
working at scribing, and it was weird. Whenever I turned back
to look at her she pretended she wasn't, but I could feel her
stare on my back. After about four day she left for a few hours
and came back with a woman wearing priestess robes who she said
is my new 'caretaker'. She said she's going to be just like my
ma, but she's not ma. I don't like her. E said it doesn't matter
though, we have to live together.

Newma doesn't like me, though, any more than I like her. I get
the feeling she's just waiting for me to turn my back so she can
sink her teeth into my neck. I'm watching her. Look how ma
turned out, after all.

(Scrawled in a neater hand near the bottom of the page)
I can read, unlike your fool former mother.

(written below that note, in Sae's scrawl)
Read this, you- (the rest of the line is blotted out with ink)

Diary Entry #54, Age 12, Highsun
Good morning, Newma.

E bought me the little shed the neighbours just to our left used
to live in, after they died or left the city or something. It
was mostly emptied out but the previous owner used to be a
tradesman and he left behind some tools for metalworking. I've
started cleaning it up and I think I can turn it into a workshop.
If I can find or barter for enough scrap metal maybe I can start
making some things we can sell, then I won't have to get another
job somewhere else. E said she'd rather I stay close to home
anyways, because it's more dangerous than it used to be.

I got another message from Stella this morning. Jacob said that
his father was really worried about something, but wouldn't say
what exactly it was. He said they're going to be leaving to go
back to Waterdeep in the next tenday, even if they have to leave
everything behind and lose their shop.

Diary Entry #55, Age 12, Fading
I have the workshop set up now, not very efficient, but it all
seems to basically work. I've drawn up a simple design for metal
holy symbols that I've started to put together using scraps as raw
materials, and they've been selling really well. Seems like
these days everyone wears as many symbols as they can, hanging
off their clothes and around their wrists. It's getting more and
more dangerous to be unfaithful.

(A little note is written in an elegant hand in the margin here)
If those cretins think that this scrap of twisted metal will save
them, they are sorely mistaken and will live to regret their folly.

(Saevitia's writing picks up again here)
Just yesterday I got another letter from Stella. It was Jacob's
writing, sort of, and the kind of parchment he normally uses, but
it was almost impossible to make anything out. It looked like
someone dropped water all over the parchment, so it smeared the
ink. I could make out the words 'mother' and 'taken away'.

Diary Entry #56, Age 12, Leafall
I got another letter from Stella today. She died just a little
bit later. The letter itself I couldn't read at all, because it
was scorched up and covered with blood, so I waited for the right
moment to escape from Newma and went out to his parent's shop,
but when I got there, the whole building was eerily empty and
quiet. It didn't look like anyone had lived there for months, but
I know he was living there just a few days ago. I asked one of
the guards but he wouldn't tell me anything, just that a new shop
was going to be opening soon, a cake shop. Well, I like cakes.

Aside from that, E seems to think that Newma and I are getting
along well enough and she's stopped coming around quite as often
again. Newma spends all her time in the house looking really
bored and yelling at Bandages, who doesn't seem to like her very
much, because she's a good cat.

Diary Entry #57, Age 12, The Rotting
Newma doesn't let me leave the house nearly as often as ma did,
so I've been spending most of autumn locked up or in my workshop
making symbols and other knick-knacks. Newma set up a stall
just outside the house so she can sell things, because she said
I don't have the 'curves' for attracting people. I hate you,
by the way, Newma. I know you're reading this.

(Newma's handwriting) I love you too, dear.

Lately, I feel like I've gotten a bit taller, and in just a year
or two I bet I'll be taller than Newma. I want to get in as much
fighting practice before winter comes, so I've been spending a
lot of my time behind the house with Isabella and my training
dummy, practicing cutting and stabbing. E said I need to be more
precise, or I'll just tire myself out fast, especially against a
bigger and stronger enemy.

Diary Entry #58, Age 12, the Drawing Down
Newma makes me do all the cooking and cleaning around the house,
because she's a (the rest of the line has been scratched out and
written again in Newma's handwriting) beautiful delicate flower.
E is sending us more money, like before, though, and Newma seems
to have her own money as well, so I can't say we're eating badly.
At least, we don't have to eat rat stew anymore, or rat jerky. I
really don't like the taste of rat jerky.

Newma and I went out the other day and picked up a load of salted
fish and spices, which cost a lot more than it would have a few
years ago. I've started paying more attention to the prices of
things, and it feels like everything's more expensive. All the
merchants seem to be having a harder time bringing things into the
city without them being taken. Seems like everyone's looking out
for themselves these days, and everyone's either hordeing or else
they're starving.

Diary Entry #59, Age 12, Deepwinter
Ever since The Melting there haven't been as many rats trying to
get into the house, not nearly. Newma and I pulled out the big
rock from the rat hole and we hired a tradesman to come by and
fix it, finally. So now there's no hole in the house, I guess,
but somehow it just makes me like Newma even less. That hole was
something that belonged to ma and I, and now it's gone. But then
again, I guess it's better not to have rats getting in. I guess
it's complicated then. (Newma) No, you're just a fool.

Everything's winding down for the year, but it doesn't really feel
like much is changing. The cold means less merchants, but there
weren't a lot of them this year anyways, and it feels like people
were huddling inside months ago. The streets are deserted most
of the time. There were a few executions today. Newma took me
out to see them. One thief and two heretics were beheaded. It
serves them right for being so foolish.

Diary Entry #60, Age 12, Claw of Winter
This was the worst Winterfest yet. E came by with some money for
us to buy things, but Newma took everything but two copper pieces
and went out to a party. I couldn't buy anything with that much,
so I just ate some hard bread and salted meat we had left over in
the house. After that I went on a walk around with Bandages, and
we shared some salted fish I got from one of the fishermen I knew
from when I used to work at the docks. We went home after the
moon was high in the sky and I had to cuddle Bandages for warmth
because Newma didn't leave any firewood.

She was already back when I woke up the next morning, I guess. I
could smell her before she even came out of her bedroom, she made
the whole house smell like a tavern. Somehow.. Someone, who it
was I'm sure I don't know, they were outside not too far from
Newma's window banging on a soup pot with a ladle really loudly.
The city's mysterious sometimes, isn't it?

(The next paragraph is written in a different colour of ink)
Claw of Winter 28th, thirdday: After Newma stormed out, E came
back later on and stayed for the next few days. I didn't see
Newma at all until a few hours after E left again and when she
got back she was wearing a lot of thick robes over her head and
arms and wouldn't say where she'd been to, but I peeked on her
and saw her cleaning some cuts, which was odd because she should
be able to heal herself with her special powers.

Diary Entry #61, Age 13, Month of Sunsets
It's the start of a new year and everything feels different than
it did last time. There's no Ma. No Jacob. No Foggy. They all
betrayed me, somehow, and now everything's different. Newma has
been teaching me all about the history of the city and things I'll
need to know when I'm old enough to serve, like her and E do. I
was tempted to try and avoid the lessons, at first, but that'd
just make E mad, and besides, Newma is better when she's teaching
than she is normally. She still sounds bored, though.

I've been training Isabella to deliver messages all over the city
now, for a bit of extra money. I've been hiding away most of my
coins (the rest of the line is blotted out with ink). On second
thought, better not write this down here. Newma would steal it.

(Newma) As if I would bother with your pittance of a horde, girl.

Anyways, it's the start of another year. Still cold enough, so
I have to bundle up. I'm going to take Bandages out for another
walk, though, in her sweater. Yesterday there were seven new
bodies hanging, and I bet Newma there'd be five more today. She
guessed only three.

PS: I won, by being closer. There were eight. Newma bought me
a chocolate croissant.

Diary Entry #62, Age 13, Storms
I talked to a wizard today, while Newma and I were in the market.
Normally Newma wouldn't let me, but she was busy healing a guard
who got injured when one of the heretics tried to bite him. He
might have lost his hand if it wasn't for her. Anyways, though,
the wizard was interesting. She was only a few years older than
me. She told me about the crawling claws she made, and I bought
two of them from her, which I've named Hammer and Tongs.

The wizard delivered Hammer and Tongs to my workshop, where I've
been trying to teach them how to help me construct the trinkets
we sell at Newma's stall, but so far it's hard. They only really
know how to crawl around. I've been training Bandages how to herd
the claws, and she's doing really well. At least with her watching
them they won't be able to escape. Orders for cheap tin and steel
holy symbols has continued increasing lately. There were ten more
bodies swinging today. E gave me a special medallion to show to
any guards that tried to stop me in the streets.

(There's a drawing at the bottom of the page, done with a different
colour of ink, of a young girl, dead, along with a cat and a bat,
in a bloody heap)

Diary Entry #63, Age 13, Melting
With Hammer and Tongs helping me to hold hot things and hammer out
the metal, I've been working on making more complicated items in
the workshop. Earlier today, I tried making a hammer-sword, by
attaching a hammer to the end of a sword. It was working out good
until it broke apart and I accidentally broke a window. I just put
some scrap wood over it. Hammers nailed it while I held the wood.

Newma's being nasty, as usual, but I'm just going to ignore her. I
also made improvements to Isabella's cage, so I can be sure that even
the smaller rats won't be able to get in at her. I attached a small
feeding dish that pulls out so I can feed her without having to open
up the cage, too. Only three executions today, but the guards said
one of them was a leader. Newma gave me a tomato so I could throw
it at him, and one of the guards bought me a sweet roll when I hit
the dying man's head.

It's been one year since I killed that woman who killed Tor. She
was the first person I had to kill with my hands, unlike rats and
the imp. I don't know why, but I feel funny about that. I'm going
to do something next month.

(Newma) I'm watching you.

Diary Entry #64, Age 13, Month of Flowers
It's been about a year since Foggy died. I was keeping this secret
until after I did it, but I guess it's fine if E and Newma read this
now. Today, I went back to the old boat Foggy used to live on. It's
still in the harbour, nobody seems to care enough to even get rid of
it. I went back to the place where I stabbed the witch, too, in the
sewers. There was lots of things in both of those places.

I found Foggy's diary, or something like it. It was more like a log
of missions that the Strangling Eels took on, all when I was a little
girl. There were six of them, including Foggy and the 'witch', his
daughter, Adella. They stopped running missions about six years ago,
after some people they got angry tracked them down. The entry about
the attack is a bit hard to read, because it's all bloody and smudged,
but it looks like everyone except Foggy and Adella were killed, real
slowly. Adella's son was killed, too, right in his crib.

After that, Foggy talks a lot about the rules of the Strangling Eels,
how Adella's gone crazy and someone needs to put her down, and it's
the job of a Strangling Eel to do it. He can't do it himself, so that
must be why he got me to. I guess he didn't have the stomach to gut
her. Newma, how's your gut feeling? Good?

Anyways, I burned the diary up. I found Adella's notes in her lair,
and I burned them up too. They were mostly about how she was trying
to sacrifice children to try and get her own baby back. I guess she
didn't try hard enough, or maybe she was just unlucky. Either way, I
burned most of her clothes and the odd things she left behind. I did
get a good supply of bone from the corpse pile she'd made, so the
whole thing wasn't a complete waste of time.

Diary Entry #65, Age 13, Summertide
I've finally finished cleaning out Adella's old lair. It turned out
there were a lot of rats living in the caves, the same rats she had
been using as slaves I guess. Anyways, I set up an obstacle course for
the rats, so I could test them. I want to know why some people don't
act the same as other people, and I guess rats are close enough. So,
I made a maze with one safe passage and one dangerous passage, that has
treats on it. So far, almost all of the rats have chosen to die in the
traps. I've made some rat jerky and I've been using the bones to make
jewelry for Newma to sell at her stall.

Apart from all that I haven't left the house much except to exercise.
E started to insist that I do it more so I can be strong enough in a
few years, so I'll be ready to serve properly, once I'm fully grown up.
I've been jogging with Hammer and Tongs, trying to keep up to them, but
they're still faster than me so far. I've started sparring more with E,
too, but I haven't come close to winning yet. I guess she isn't going
to go easy on me anymore. Or maybe she is? I'm not sure. Of course
Newma didn't use her powers to heal my bruises. She said it's a good
way for me to learn my lessons.

(Newma) I just like seeing you black and blue.

Diary Entry #66, Age 13, Highsun
Dear Newma,

I'm writing to you especially with this entry, about a very nice thing
I saw happen the other day. I saw E bring a woman by, cloaked in some
big heavy silk robes, but I could tell she was pretty. She looked so
dainty and pure, kind of how you probably used to look. It wasn't only
her, though. E had another woman by too, even prettier than the first.
If you don't believe me, just ask our neighbours. They must have seen
the lady in red come by while you were out.

Anyways, I know all about you and E, but I guess she decided to branch
out a little. I guess you don't quite have the curves she's looking
for after all. I'd say you could get a job down at the docks, but the
only people you'll be entertaining are the fishies. If only you hadn't
had that second cake the other day. You'll be fine, just try not to
think about your inevitable painful death. Think of it like a vacation.

(A short discussion follows, not in Sae's writing, instead in the hand
of Newma and an unknown)

(Unknown) First, not a woman.

(Newma) And the second?

(Unknown) Definitely a woman.

Diary Entry #67, Age 13, Fading
I managed to catch some of the bigger rats in my maze today, and they
were too big for the traps to kill them, so I fought them with my knife
until I killed them all. They were already badly cut up, and after I was
done I had to fix the traps. Sharpening blades and removing rat flesh
took a bit of time, but I guess E would call it good exercise. If I can
catch more of the big dire rats I'll be able to practice stabbing them as
much as I want, but I'll have to figure out how to especially single them
out from the other rats.

But now that Adella is gone, and now that the rats in her cave are kept
in place, there haven't been nearly as many of them around town now, so I
can take Bandages out on a walk without them trying to bite at her. I
took some of the rat hide and made a leash for her, then I made a buckle
at the end with bone from Adella's stash and polished it to a sheen.
Bandages has been getting better at herding Hammer and Tongs, since I don't
think the claws are even able to learn. But they still can't do anything
without being watched closely. I'll have to find a good solution, since
I don't have time to spend all day in the workshop.

Diary Entry #68, Age 13, Leafall
It's been over a year now since Ma hired those goons to attack E, and I
guess she ran away without me. I knew it was silly to think she might be
coming back some day, but I guess now she for sure isn't. I was down in
the workshop working on sharpening some knives for our neighbours when I
decided to do it. I cut off all my hair. Ma used to take such good care
of it, but now I don't even want to look at it. I guess it feels sort of
like I've really turned my back on her now, too.

So I finished sharpening the rest of the knives and I brought them back
and we made a few silver coins for all our hard work. I kept one of them
from Newma and used it to buy a new headband, to keep the sweat out of my
eyes when I'm practicing. I guess short hair is better for fighting with
anyways.

(Newma) I can't believe your 'ma' could stand looking at your ugly face
for as long as she did.

(Sae) Do you know how to dress yourself, or do you need E's help?

Diary Entry #69, Age 13, The Rotting
Another year, another autumn, another winter in a few months. It's really
getting cold now, so I have to bundle up when I go outside. There are a few
burned down houses near where we live, and us and the rest of the people in
the neighbourhood have been scavenging from the remains for firewood. Bad
for the people who were inside when the place was burned, but I guess it's
to our benefit that they were stupid enough to be heretics.

Newma and I are trapped inside more around this time of year, and she's got
to teach me about history anyways, so she's been telling me about something
that's actually a bit interesting. She was telling me about different heroes
of the faith, like Birian, who slew an army with flames, or the King of Cats,
whose influence turned a kingdom into rubble and dust. They're interesting
stories. I especially liked the story of Mina, the Steel Wall. Her shield
was said to be strong enough to repulse a sea of arrows and turn them around
on the archers who shot them. I'd like to make a shield like that some day.

Diary Entry #70, Age 13, the Drawing Down
Since Jacob (probably) died I haven't had many friends, but I saw the wizard
who sold me Hammer and Tongs again today. She said she's a necromancer, which
is a type of wizard that works with undead creatures, like Hammer and Tongs
are. She showed me where she works, which is a hut down by the cemetary, and
how she works. Right now she's making skeletons for her advanced class in
skeletonolgy. I won't bother writing her name down yet. Maybe I will if she
survives another few months.

After I left her hut I went back home, but I stopped off at the butcher's
shop and picked up a giant troll skull. I took the skull back to my workshop
and used some building material and a trowel to fill in all the openings, so
the skull could be used like a basket, then I attached wheels on it so I can
use it to carry things between our home and the workshop and Adella's cave.
If the load is very light, I might be able to get Hammer and Tongs to take it
in hand and push the skullbarrow for me.

Diary Entry #71, Age 13, Deepwinter
Snowing again. I really don't like being in snow. I have to be careful to
make sure that Isabella's blanket is put over her cage or her wings will
freeze solid, and I spent a long time training her. There was a big thing
that happened down at the market today while Newma and I were there. The
guards brought out seven people, marching them through the snow in some
thin rags, then executed them one by one by cutting their throats. Each
of the corpses had a star placed on their chest, and they were arranged in
a sort of circle, then cut up with sharp knives until their blood flowed
like a river in between them. Something was done by one of the priests to
make the blood boil, and it gave off a strange red mist.

Newma said it has something to do with a goddess who has a symbol that sort
of looks like that. Actually, I know which one it is, Newma, and I bet she's
just the sort you'd like to worship. After all, who better for a harlot to
worship than a harlot goddess? So anyways, later on in the day the guards
made a big fire by the corpses and threw in some metal things I couldn't see
clearly from where we were standing, but it caused the flames to burn very
brightly. The bodies were dumped into the water and everything was cleaned
up, but nobody wants to walk in the spot where they'd been placed.

Diary Entry #72, Age 13, Claw of Winter
E came by today to talk to me about some changes that'll be coming up in the
next few years. She said that until I'm ready to go out on my own, she's
going to be spending a lot more time with us, because I need to be getting
more serious about my training. I'll be practicing fighting and learning the
lessons of faith from her directly, and I guess a little bit from you, Newma,
but I think you're on your way out. Maybe you should buy a funeral plot or
something? I'd hate to see you dumped in the gutter, alone and unmourned.

But anyways, it's another Winterfest. Like old times, I guess. E stayed
with us the whole day. I went out for a little bit to give her and Newma
some time alone. A strange thing happened. A snowman I first saw at the
start of the month suddenly burst, and there was a man inside wearing a
skin-tight suit of black. He grabbed the carrot nose he'd been wearing and
used it to stab a man who was walking past, who looked like a noble, then
he jumped into the sewers before the man's guards could catch him. Very
weird. He's been stuck in that snowman for at least two tendays.

When I got home we ate supper. E gave me the sword she showed me before,
at least sort of. She said I'd only be allowed to have it while she was
around to show me how to use it, at least until I'm older. It belonged to
someone important, and it has to do with my past. It's pretty, but I don't
know what the writing on the blade means yet.

*reaches the end of the previous post*

Nooo... I need moooore...

I <3<3 this thread.

Never in my darkest dreams could I ever have fathomed the circumstances that surrounded this girl.

......go on.

Diary Entry #73, Age 14, Month of Sunsets
I've finally decided, it's time to start bringing back the Strangling Eels.
I recruited my first new member, who I'm calling the Hat-wearing Lass so
secrets stay secret. Newma. I'm starting her off by having her work in the
workshop, controlling Hammer and Tongs while I train with E about slashing
and bashing. Adella's lair is going to be our new base, once we've got it
fixed up. I have the workshop working on building lots of daggers and other
things we can use out of scrap metal and wood dredged up from the harbour.

E came by the house today to start teaching me how to fight properly with
the new sword she showed me last month. It's very heavy. It's still hard
for me to swing it, so I've been holding it out and poking, like it's a
spear, but E got angry. She showed me how to grip it with both hands so
I can put all my weight into my swings, but I'll need to practice to get
my arms stronger if I want to swing it like she can. While we were there
I met a few others who are training, too. There's one girl, Newma's niece.
Newma, I'm keeping an eye on her. Maybe you should warn her?

Diary Entry #74, Age 14, Storms
It wasn't too hard to get a few more people joining the Strangling Eels.
They're all younger than Hat and I. Eleven or twelve. There was also a
strange string of unrelated incidents involving vandalism in some shops near
where Newma and I live, so we offered our services to protect these shops
from future attacks. The merchants were reluctant, at first, because of how
young we are, but a few of them came around after they were unfortunate enough
to suffer injuries from some more attacks. Now that we're making a bit more
coins we put some money into buying leather cloaks and hats for protection.

I'm already getting better, E said. I'm a natural, just like

(the next line is struck with a thick blot of ink, unknown handwriting follows)
Haven't we had this discussion? Do I need to teach you again?

Nemwa's niece made sure to challenge me, so I practiced fighting her with
wooden swords. She got a few hits on me, but I got some on her, too. A draw,
for now. We'll see who hits last. E let me practice fighting some of the
enemies we have locked away, but only while their hands were tied. I'm very
interested in hitting different parts of them, to see which part hurts the
most. The head is vulnerable, of course, but so is the knee. I need to try
a few more places next time. E showed me a few places to cut for extra blood.

Diary Entry #75, Age 14, Melting
I had Hat and Hammer and Tongs make me a long metal bar by putting together
some smaller ones, and I've been using it to practice in Eel Grotto. E was
impressed at how much better I've been getting so fast at swinging the long
sword, but I still have a long way to go. It's hard. I don't think my arms
are strong enough to do it properly still. Maybe soon though. I also heard that
someone put a sharp razor into Niece's lunch, but she survived. Too bad.

We're up to seven in the Eel Grotto now, not counting me. I've got them split
into teams. Four are protecting the local shops against dangerous thugs. One
of them is set up as a sentry guarding the Grotto during the day. Hat is still
in charge of the worskhop, and I gave her an assistant to scour for materials.
Once we get enough people I have some more plans, but the less said here the
better.

(Newma) You're so transparent. Idiot child. If I-

It's too delicate a job for our workshop so I went to a smith who works by the
harbour and had him make rings for the Eels, just like the one Foggy gave me.
I made all of them out of lead, though, except for Hat's. Tin.

Diary Entry #76, Age 14, Month of Flowers
We've cleaned up the Grotto a lot more now. Put in some furniture. Sandals,
one of our new members, set up a bar inside, and an arena, so we can bet on
fights between the dire rats. He's twelve, but big for his age, and he's eager
to please. He learned from his father how to brew ale, before his father died
for being a heretic and he was left alone on the streets, so we can serve that.
It's very weak. Mostly water. We lost two Eels trying to protect a shop from
thugs, but we were able to recruit three more, so it's still a gain. The shop's
owner also died, and his young daughter. After they saw just how dangerous it
is out there we got a few more shops to join us. A side benefit is that we can
sell the corpses to the wizard who made Hammer and Tongs. She's always looking
for raw materials.

My training is continuing well. E brought me to the temple today and told me
to kill three of the slaves they have there with a dagger she gave me. She
didn't tell me how fast I had to go, though, so I tested out how much I could
bleed them before they passed out. The first one, I accidentally bled him too
fast and he died right away. By the time I got to the last one, though, he
was awake for nearly an hour, so that went much better.

Diary Entry #77, Age 14, Summertide
We've started having a little trouble with the old group that used to offer their
protection to the local shops. Even though their numbers are almost completely
gone thanks to most of them being executed as heretics or driven out of the city,
they're older than us, and stronger. We need to be very careful. One of the
Eels was planning on selling the location of the Eel Grotto to them, but Sandals
heard about it and told me what was going to happen. I tied some rocks to him so
he won't be coming up any time soon.

Anyways, E's started teaching me how to ride a horse. I brought Bandages out to
watch me ride, and she got on very well with the other animals. Niece suffered
an accident when her saddle came undone, but sadly she didn't even break anything
when she got thrown from her horse and Newma just healed up her scrapes and cuts.

Diary Entry #78, Age 14, Highsun
Another plague went through our district of the city. We ended up losing a few
Eels to it, but then we gained a few more whose parents were killed by disease,
so we broke even. A few of our neighbours were killed in the street when it was
discovered they were secretly followers of the god of thieves. Everyone blamed
them for the plague, for bringing the wrath of the True God down upon us. Their
heads were stuck on pikes in the middle of the square, as a warning.

While I was taking Bandages out on another walk today I saw an adventurer going
into the cemetery. He was a few years older than me. I wanted to see what he
was doing there, so we followed him, keeping out of sight, watching as he went
up to talk to a ghost. He went in and out of the cemetery a few times before he
started trying to fight the skeletons, but he was stupidly using a cutting sabre.
The blade slid right off the bones and lodged into the soft earth, and before he
could pull it out again the skeletons were cutting him up into bits with their
sharp finger claws. We got out of there before they saw us, but I told the
wizard who sold me Hammer and Tongs* about what happened and she gave me a few
coins for the information. I guess she wanted the corpse.

PS: Newma, we have something in common now. We both sell bodies. The only
difference is I'm selling other people's.

* It's been long enough. Her name is Eileen. Eileen the Crow.

Diary Entry #79, Age 14, Fading
I can't prove it, but I think Niece was behind it. While I was taking a walk
to the market I cut through an alley near our house and I was attacked by an older
boy, probably sixteen or seventeen at least. He ran out of the shadows and pushed
me up against the wall by my neck, trying to strangle me, but I managed to get my
hand to the dagger on my belt and got him in the leg. I got out of his grip, and
by then Hat had gathered a few of our younger members. As soon as I got out of
reach they started pelting him with stones and other bits of garbage. After he died
we searched his body, but couldn't find anything that would tell us for sure who he
was. I'm sure he's not a local, though. We dumped his body off the harbour.

Because it's the right time of year, I also bought a big parcel of pumpkins from
one of the merchants in the harbour and I hollowed them out and decorated the
tops with burning coals, then I gave them to the Eels to wear. I think it'll be
protective, and it should scare people off.

My training is coming along well still. Niece was surprised to see me, but she
did a good job of hiding it. E said I'm getting better at putting my feet in the
right position to properly hold my stance. I can feel my arms getting stronger,
too. She gave me some other weapons to practice with. A spear, a shield, a flail,
and an axe. I have to pick one tomorrow to continue training with for the month.

Diary Entry #80, Age 14, Leafall
I had a good opportunity yesterday, diary. There's a girl around my age who
lives with her parents in my neighbourhood, she's always been particularly quiet
and hasn't gotten along well with the other children, but recently it came out
that she's actually a feather-child. A glowy celestial type. Of course, her
father isn't from around here, and her mother is, so her mother's parents blamed
him for it and beat on him a lot. While he was recovering, he got really sick
with the plague that swept through the neighbourhood a while back, but he didn't
die right away. There's a cure for it, but of course the family couldn't afford it.

Anyways, the girl knew the Eels have money, so she asked me to buy a potion for
her father. Every day for a tenday she worked her fingers to the bone scrubbing
the Eel Grotto and giving us whatever pocket coins she had laying around, and
she gave Sandals her father's best beer steins. I couldn't find a single vial of
plague cure. Her father died after the fourteenth day so she ran back home. No
point in buying one now. I'm not sure what will happen to her and her mother
now. Their family won't take them back because of the curse.

Diary Entry #81, Age 14, The Rotting
It's getting colder, so I've been spending more time in the workshop this month,
with Hammer, Tongs, and the Hat-Wearing Lass. I've been trying to make a new
kind of mace-axe by attaching two heavy round blades we made to the head of a
bronze mace, but it doesn't work out quite how I want it to. The blades kept
coming off at first, and after we got them to stay on by attaching them with
some tin rivets it still doesn't quite have the bite I want it to. I'll keep
on working on it. Some day I'm going to get this one right.

Besides that, I'm still learning a bit from Newma. She was teaching her niece
and I about different languages yesterday, in the temple. Specifically, goblin.
I know about fifty words now, most of which are commands to bow down, give all
your money, or pledge allegiance to the True God. After Newma left, Niece and
I got into a fight, but I left her with more bruises. Some day, Newma, you'll
end up sharing a grave with her.

Diary Entry #82, Age 14, the Drawing Down
Isabella is fully trained now, she knows exactly how to get from home to the
Eel Grotto and back again, and how to find most of the people we need to get
in touch with. Now that we have her trained I've got Hat working on training
up some more bats so we can use them to communicate even more easily. We've
been using the bits of goblin I learned to make the messages harder to read,
in case the bats are captured. Everyone has to learn.

I've also been working on a new invention that came to mind, a whistle that
only the bats can hear, and which will summon them all back to the Grotto from
wherever they might be. I've got a whistle, but I haven't been able to make
it so only the bats can hear it. Still working on it. I might need to speak
to Eileen to get her help. That'll mean we'll need bodies to trade her, or
something. We might have to send some people on a few dangerous missions and
hope for the best.

PS: We got the bodies, but Eileen wasn't able to enchant the whistle. We
ended up trading her for a mark. She owes us one favour.

Diary Entry #83, Age 14, Deepwinter
With the snows as heavy as they've been this month we've had the Eels going
door to door shovelling for a bit of extra coin. Of course I take a cut of
every deal, and I give a little bit to Hat and Sandals. I've spent most of
the month at home, training with E. She's been here every day, showing me
some tricks with the sword and the flail that I picked back in the Fading.
She also brought me a shield to practice with, and has been training me how
to block arrows with it by pelting ice balls at me.

I've gotten tall in the last few years. Already I'm just about as tall as
E, and I might even get a bit taller. Maybe not, though, since I don't think
I've grown any in the last six months, so I might be finished. Every day I
train I feel myself getting a little bit stronger. Two years ago I would have
had a hard time running around the whole neighbourhood without getting winded,
but now I can do it two or three times without breaking a sweat. Of course,
the neighbourhood is a little smaller than it was back then, but I've still
made some good strides forward. E says I need to work on my mind as much as
my body, though, so she's been bringing me books to read. Books on faith and
books on history and geography. There's so much out there, past the walls of
the city, waiting for someone to come and see it, or loot it.

Diary Entry #84, Age 14, Claw of Winter
Another year passed, but I think it's been productive. E says that I only have
one year left of training before I'll be ready to serve on my own, without her
watching over my shoulder. I'm looking forward to it. There are more tests
to be run, against other creatures. Goblins. Ogres. Giants. If I can get at
their bones and hide I can probably make even more impressive inventions. I've
got so many ideas, but haven't had the chance to really try them yet. Next year
I'm going to sink myself into it even more.

This is the first time I've spent Winterfest away from home. I left Newma there
and we had a little party down in the Eel Grotto. We even invited Niece to join
us there and she grudgingly accepted. Poor Newma, eating all alone. Can't have
a repeat of the first year you spent with us, right? Sandals made some peppermint
ale and I bought a few baskets of candy, fruit, salted fish. Some of the younger
Eels played on the drums and the flute and we even dragged in a tree and decorated
it with some bright coral we fished out of the harbour.

So here's a year end ledger for the Strangling Eels. I guess my old work at the
docks is coming in handy.