Illarion.org

A small book with a diary lies in the library, the last page open.
nobody is near and the library dark and silent as usual. Some inquisitive visitors have a look at the the page, but since it seems to be a privat possession - battered and greasy as it is, they leave the book alone.
Later on, passing by again it is gone.



It is the fifth day of Bras.
Broke camp very early today, when it was still dark, and Elara's book could still be seen above the horizon in the west. It was very cold, and the signs were for bad weather to come.
The tracks i followed yesterday had been covered by snow, but still i could find them with some luck and backtracking. I wonder who this traveler might be. Now the sun has reached it's summit, and i am taking a rest.
I will have to get down those cliffs i saw in the east, when i went up north 2 weeks ago. I hope they are not as steep as tey looked, and will offer good hold for me. I dont feel like climbing, cold and stiff as i am.

I stopped for another rest. The dawn draws near and i will have to make camp soon i guess. Lost the traces some time ago, but there is a small hill nearby. Maybe i can see them from up above. It must have been a tireless one, i found no trace of a restingplace or the like. Also i believe, the hill might offer a small cave, a good place to spend the night. Dark clowds loom up in the west, i hope the bad weather doesnt break soon.

I found the traces again. From up here they can easily seen going further south, towards the cliffs. But i will have to stay the night here. I found some trees, which form a small cave with their branches under the snow. They will cover my sleep.


The sixth day of Bras.
The wind is blowing fierce, but the trees - Elara bless them - provided good cover. I fear the snow is comming soon, but i cannot stay, ere the traces will vanish entirely. Still i am not happy going out into this dreadfull weather.

I do not know, what time of the day it is exactly. It's all gray and white, and i barely can see the horizon. Seeing farther then 50 feet is the most. Have got some cover now for a small rest in a small grove. Amazing i didnt loose the tracks, but then they are going straight south. At least i believe it is south, i am going now.

I am feeling terrible. It seems i oversaw the cliffs in the blizzard, and thus i slipped and slid down i dont know how far. Yet it seems i did not break anything, but my limbs hurt as if the unspoken one has driven nails into them. But.. was it real or was it imagination. The tracks changed shortly before i fell. I must have hit something hard with my head, or the tracks got bigger and bigger in the end, and the steps farther and farther. But then it must have been just imagination, for what beast could have feet half as big as myself. No it can not be, it can not. I am realy lucky anyway. A small cave in the cliff offers some cover now. A bit to the right there is a huge waterfall, but all frozen up right now.


The seventh day of Bras.
I can barly walk. The snowstorm did stop, but still it is cold. But maybe thats my luck, because the cold dampens my pain. I am blue all over, and my ankles are swollen. I barely got my boots back on this morning and i wont dare take them off this evening. But i think it is not all that far anymore to the hut of the eremit. He will have the means to help me. The last day seems like a dream to me, all fuzzy and diffuse. No wonder i ment those hollows to be tracks.

The eigth day of Bras.
Going is still hard. i dropped some of my burden, because i fear i can not carry it all along. A pity that i have to leave so much i did discover behind.

The tenth day of Bras.
Was not able to write yesterday. My fingers and arms were too stiff and too cold. I have to reach the hut tomorrow, or i will not make it. My provisons are at an end and the going gets harder all the time.

The twelfth day of Bras.
I reached the hut. Yesterday. But i slept until now, exhausted as i was. But i wish i was out there in the cold, because the warmth of the hut gave the feeling back to my limbs. I wonder how i could have been walking on these, all the way. But in a few days i will have to travel on to Trolls Bane.

On the same desk, where the small diary lay, there now rests an old tome. It tells about myths and legends, about the gods and their wars. It lies open showing the chapter about the "Age of Discord".

Elaralith walks by the library dressed in her usual robes and holding a elegantly carved staff. Looking in, she sees the diary and tomes, and she comes closer to investigate...

A few days later days later, the small booklet lies again on a library table,
surrounded by several books and tomes and even some scrolls.
Some seem to be old maps, from distant places, their lines nearly faded to invisibility.
Some deal with tales, collected by some scribe on his travels. Some are collections of fables. Strangely displaced among those books seems to be a collection of loose papers, which deals with reports of the townguards and concerns of some peasants.


4th of Malas:
Guddar Baldorogh, a farmer who lives west of town, reported today with an errant of great importance. Someone burned down his grain field and slaughtered some of his cattle. The place was a mess, and deep holes dug into his farmland. No traces could be found of the missing cattle but a few pools of blood.

His request for remitment of his taxpayment was accepted after confirmation of the facts.



10th of Malas :
Arfil Guddarsdottir reported a troublemaking traveler to a townguard. A Lizard seems to be bothering the townsfolk with strange questions about some egg, going as far as threatening and intimidating them. We will investigate this case, but the lizard in question seems to have vanished.




8th of Malas:
A larger fire had to be extinguished today near the north-bridge, which went fairly well, since the weather was rather cool and damp. All the fruitbearing trees were burned to ashes. Unfortunatly there are no whitnesses to this incident. There are reports about a few orcs though,
that bothered people. The individuals could not be found for questioning though.



The Diary:

It is the eighteenth of Siros:
The weather is reasonably warm, if warm one can call it, as far north as i am now. I saw a huge cave today, high above the valleyfloor. But i fear it is virtually unreachable for me. The cliffs are vertical, and just around the cave entrance there is a flat band, where one might be able to walk. Strange, there are very few daws around. I would have believed, they would use such a good hiding place. But then there might be another opening somewhere, giving access to foxes and the like. I will make rest somewhere around here and travel on further north tomorrow.

It is the nineteenth of Siros:
I woke up in the middle of the night. It was very clear and brisk, and Malachins Bow was at its highest. Still i felt disquieted somehow. Some highflying cloud obscured the stars, but it vanished fast. Also a night owl hunted somewhere near my camp. At morning i broke camp and traveled on. This valley offers little game for hunters it seems. As a matter of fact i dont remember seeing a lot of deertracks in the last few days. Found some interesting stones here, green and slightly translucent. I will have to ask the dwarfs at home, if it is usefull in any way.

Many a year later a dwarf and a woodsman can bee seen in the library,
working through the pages, arguing then and when about some details.