How strange to finally see clearly ahead, now that I've been blinded! I'm a suspicious type by nature, I suppose, but never did I suspect how deeply I've been tricked, and for how long...

It was immediate that I suspected the priest's lack of information. But I had no idea what kid of troubles this would lead me to... That I had been lead into a group that had managed to anger gods and men alike.

To hunt a dragon is one thing. To be hunted by bands of greedy thieves for silly pieces of dragon gold, to be prominent enough that I should be sought out by evil-working rivals, to be trapped in the politics of groups I had scarcely ever heard of... it is all entirely beyond what I had expected. It smells of the contrivances of dragons and men.

And now, because I was naïve enough to believe that the situation was a straightforward dragon-slaying, I sit in the dark. My sight is gone. Curse the blade of that halber.... my eyes still burn and throb. Hot tears come unbid from my eyes, but the water does nothing to help. I know. The magic won't stop its work until it is undone. I would kill that bastard... I would have, if he wouldn't have teleported himself. I would have killed him if he hadn't killed me. But he wasn't interested in clean death... only the same sick kind of crippling and curses his kind stoop to. May my poison take him. I hope it rots his veins, as he tried to do to Auhron; as he tried to do to Bellum's soul; as even now it does my eyes.

But what can I do now? I am no shape to deliver justice. And my companions -- how strange it is, but after all this time, there isn't one I have any connections to -- have other goals, and are no help.

My pig friend and Kas are right; I don't belong here. This much I should have trusted my instincts on from the beginning. I don't know what my brother sees in cities and humans, but they're not for me. It's time to go back to the forest, where things make sense, where I can think clearly. Perhaps I can find a way to heal my eyes. Or perhaps I can train, find a way to track that cursed sight-stealer. But whatever I am looking for, I know I won't find it with these people, on their journey to nowheres unknown.

At least my lack of ties makes it easy to depart my own way. Greogh and Kss... I am grateful to have their company, their brotherhood. Their rhythms remind me of what I have almost forgotten: nature. I must find a way to repay them... some service or goods to reward their kindness. Maybe I can make use of Kissenth's hide, for some kind of armor or clothes; or maybe I can awaken Greogh, and give him the power to shape his own destiny and help his pack. Especially I am grateful now, when they are my only guides in a cold, barren dark that doesn't end...

The night's weather is crisp and breezy... if only I could see the stars. But it is perfect for a new beginning. Sleep well, strange travellers, and may you find whatever it is that spurs you to the end of the world; may you find freedom from your compulsions, as I finally will tonight.

A few days before the 2nd full moon since the original ware-panther attack.

Well, these past three days have been quite an ordeal. Let me start form the beginning. The morning after we met with the Dwarven Wizard Raymond, half our party went to the swamps to hunt for wyverns, while the rest of us stayed in town.

That morning, while breaking our fast in the common room , I heard some guards talking about seeing a 'large cat', in the area. My heart skipped a few beats, I know it must have, at the mention of those creatures nearby. We had run into ware-panthers two months ago, the day we first met the monk, Dante. Unfortunately, they had escaped after their failed ambush on us. I don't know how, but I was sure they had found us again.

After talking with the guards, and checking out their story, we went out to the area the creatures had been seen. There in the snow, we found a note, in elvish, addressed to me! It was a threat, of sorts:

Lady Falahara, You are a difficult one to track down. It is almost as if you fly through the lands you travel. I hope I have not endangered your masquerade, but we both know you are not long to hide in such a place of civilization. Our Blood longs for the open wilderness. We must speak. If nothing else, I know the dark one who seeks for the White Castle. You travel with one who has something my mistress seeks. I believe we can arrange a beneficial trade. Meet me at the archery range when the moon crests the mountains, come alone. If your do not, then I will be forced to reveal your nature to the Silver Sword of this town.

Yours in Blood,
Jaga

Obviously, the ware-panther who had bitten me two months ago thought he had successfully induced lycanthropy, but we already knew this could not be, since Anuu had cast some magics on me just after that battle, and I had not changed the previous full moon. Still, I was nervous. I do no think I could stand that curse upon my being, nor any of my friends.

It was also obvious that this Jaga knew quite a bit more about our enemies than we did. Perhaps we could get some information out of him before we cleansed the world of his presence.

We had no luck discovering the whereabouts of anyone from the Emerald Enclave (an organization whom opposes the Black Blood and who would have surely given us aid), or the Silver Sword spoken of in the letter. So the four of us, Anuu, Xon, Aurhon, and I went to the meeting alone. I don't think they wanted to go at all, but didn't want me to go alone, so they hid nearby and waited for my signal.

Frankly, I was surprised that Xon was so not interested in confronting this Jaga. I still don't know if it was fear or apathy that drove him. Perhaps I misjudged this human, I must reflect on this more.

Anyway, upon speaking with Jaga, I learned that he in fact did not believe I was a lycanthrope, it had all been a ploy to lure me to him, which I stupidly fell for. I seriously underestimated this creature, who simply played off my fears. He seemed to know quite a lot about me for a bounty hunter, for that is all he was.

Jaga, along with his regular panther friends, had been hired both by the dragon Kissenth, and by Maloc to get the amulet, and our heads. But, the ignorant fool had no idea what the amulet even was, nor the power he would be handing over. He simply thought to make a deal with me for the amulet, and present our heads to Maloc after Kissenth took care of us for him.

He was quite talkative, he told me all this, and even told me about how Kissenth had a serpentine sorceress working with her and many minions. Killing Kissenth will not be an easy fight, one thing I think Jaga was right about. I thought we could probably get more information out of him as well as be more prepared to take him on, if we had more preparations, I was not the only one near him, and we had some allies with us. He surely had forces surrounding us that night, and the four of us were separated by many strides. I did not want him to get away again. So I bluffed him into thinking we would be cooperative, would pay him more that he had been offered, for him to betray his previous contract. He seemed completely interested in the prospect and perfectly willing to meet us again in three nights.

This should have allowed us to set a proper ambush, gather allies, and be sure to take him and his friends in one attack. But I didn't know the whole story.

My friends were completely baffled, they did not understand my reasoning in allowing him to walk away that night, instead of just taking him then and there, I tried to explain how I thought that he had more information, and he had had forces surrounding us, and we had been too far away from each other. The risk would be less when we were all together, plus our other friends, Bellum ,Boudicea, and Dante would be back and the fight would be much more in our favor.

I should have listened to them. It was a stupid plan. Perhaps it was fear that drove me to turn away from a fight that night. It was almost 90 years ago, but I still remember the night that the Black Blood took my brother... Perhaps it was the possibility that we would be able to take more of them out if we waited..

As I have said before, I did not know the whole story. As we came back to the city after the meeting with Jaga, we were surprised to find a hostile city guard unit awaiting us. Not wanting any bloodshed, we were forced to surrender ourselves into capture, and were then separated for questioning. I remember the captain accusing me of first being a lycanthrope, which I denyed vehemently, finally proving with a silver dagger wound, and secondly of being in league with the Black Blood. I learned that the note from Jaga had been discovered by the guards and then re-planted for us to discover, so that we could be found out and arrested. The fact that we spoke with Jaga and then let him go only confirmed their suspicions of us.

I don't really know how we eventually convinced them that we were not friends of the evil ware-creatures, but probably being uninfected, speaking under a magical truth spell, and my professed hatred of their kind as well as my mention of my father's connection with the Emerald Enclave may have helped. However it was, they decided to let us meet with Jaga again, but did not agree to help us with the encounter. Curse them for that, we were not strong enough to handle this enemy on our own.