Prelude One - Excepts

Preludes

From the personal journal of Peredur

I.
"I come again to the place of my birth. The sea crashes its soothing sounds against the shore to my left as the wagons creek. The scent of leather and beast mixes in an odor I have come to love as the smell of freedom.

By contrast, the sea air reminds me only of shackles. I remember fear and the smell of iron, thick and heavy in my nostrils. This is where it began nearly five years ago..."

II.
"Today is festival. How could I have forgotten? The festival is nothing, and everything. At least mother is well. How is it I ramble so, even in ink? As I put this pen to parchment my hand trembles with what must happen..."

III.
"It happened as I feared, and yet not. I have only the barest inkling of what will come, yet his words echo like a struck gong in my head. '.. As will I burn, so the town will burn with vengeance and treachery. As the specter of reverie rises, so flee I. When the son returns, so flees the traitor, the coward and hope... ' He knew, damn him, somehow, he knew. If only he had said more before he went back..."

On the First Battle at Sandpoint

I.
"A Dinner Interrupted.

A gurgling scream dies abruptly leaving only ringing silence.

Two heartbeats later the silence erupts into a frenzy of snarling teeth and knives as an ugly, blotched, green-skinned beast on two legs runs into the dining area and the crowd scatters in fear.

A shout sounds from your humble author as he jumps upon the table, brandishing knives and warning of two other goblins lurking in the shadows of a nearby alley.

Enter then, Toska, warrior from northern lands. The wind spirits that give her its clan name seem to ripple on her skin as she flows, like a river unleashed, from her seat and into the fray. The steel of her great blade singing its thirst, outdone only by the screams of her enemies as they pay steel's deadly price.

Finally, come Oswick, mighty with the strength of the stone born. Holy warrior from afar, his morningstar and axe spell death for the green skins. He calls upon the fires of his faith, the forge of god, to sear the unrighteous enemies of dwarvendom from the land. The fires respond.

The enemy lies broken upon the stone."

Notes from the battle and the aftermath

I.
"Two days ago we saved many lives, and yet I cannot help but wonder of those we did not save. The locals left flowers and meals by our doors.

We managed to save the noble Aldwyn Foxglove from a goblin riding a wolf. Yet, many more died. Why do the rich prosper and the poor perish?

We interrogated one of the little beasts. The stench was awful! It was all I could do not to gag. The creature claims to have been working with one of us, whom he called "long shanks" presumably because our legs make good eating. It said it had orders to burn everything.

And what of Father Tobyn's bones? How could he have predicted this? At the time, I did not know what his words meant, and now they seem to clear. Yet still, there is mystery there. What do they want with the bones? What is the relationship to Father Tobyn? Why now?"

II.
"Yesterday we met Aldwyn Foxglove. He offered us a reward and told us to come visit his manor. Foxglove invited us up for boar hunting and in the same breath complained of the danger here in Sandpoint.

Sometimes I wonder if nobles are addled in the mind. Still, I must remember, they are not all like that.

We are hailed as heroes and offered discounts by all the local merchants. Yet, what of the mother and two fatherless boys who fell victim to a starved goblin marauder in their closet? Lady, I do not even remember your name as I pray for you."

III.
"Last night we met with an elf woman named Shaylelu Andosana, an elf huntress who seems to bear a particular hatred for goblins. Shaylelu detailed the five tribes of goblins who live nearby. The clans of Mosswood, Bird Cruncher, Seven Tooth, Thistle Top and Lick Toad seem to surround Sandpoint. Shaylelu was quite concerned by the fact they were working together since, it seems, normally they fight each other too much to be a threat to the local country.

Though the damage they wreaked on the town was considerable. I cannot help but wonder if it is them we should worry over. During the fight, the little blighters were getting distracted by their own hunger and the chaos that infects their minds. One even crawled into a barrel and got stuck!"

IV.
"I awake on the fourth day since I arrived, and the hair on my neck is standing up. Something is afoot and I know it will be a grim day. The morning sun rose in a blood red sky.

In moments I will go downstairs to face what comes."

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The preceding were transcribed from The Collected Notes of Peredur by an unnamed scribe of the Library of Golarian History, dated from the First Year of the 7th Turning. Based upon the content it is well agreed that these are some of the notes leading up to the work entitled Chronicles in Varisia I.

It is worth noting that the organization of the ideas happens linearly as they occur to the author (in this segment, said to be Peredur Vardis Deverin), and the order is not changed in the transcription except in so far as it makes the progression easier to group, from volume to volume. There are, however, many omitted notes as the entire collection would be too daunting a task to put in a single volume.

It is also worth noting that these, some of the very early personal writings, are among the oldest written records we have of this time, and of Peredur. Unlike many of his other public works and speeches (where recorded) these do not seem to be penned in one of the many cultivated personas so typical of the Ambassador Provocateur.