[coronatiger]

Thoughts on June 5th

The whispering during our watch today wasn’t quite as eager as yesterday’s. I have spent two days in the company of a surly dwarf, staring at trees. At least Olivia has been with people who don’t bear grudges against her. Not that the trees she’s been staring at have been any more interesting than mine. But we joined the others at breakfast, confident that today would be the day of our first exciting discovery. Lady Karita would find a strange flower. Or the geologist would find a precious stone.

We were sorely disappointed. The only bright spot of the day was when Olivia suggested something I actually had never tried before, and we spent a couple of hours exploring the idea.


Thoughts on June 6th

I still haven’t given up hope. Today, surely, someone must find something, I remember thinking at breakfast. And at lunch. Well, maybe tomorrow.


Thoughts on June 7th

I can’t believe I thought it would be fun to go exploring the wilds. Lacking anything better to do, I stood on my hands in Lightfoot’s saddle while we were traveling, just to see how long I could stay upright like that. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good acrobatics practice session. A couple of minutes now and then teaching Lady Karita don’t count. How can I become the world’s greatest acrobat if I don’t practice?


Thoughts on June 8th

I’m boooored! And I don’t think we’re even half-way through the miserable quest. A small part of me is happy for Magnar, though, who seem to be feeling better, seeing my melancholy. If it hadn’t been for Olivia’s private ministrations, I would have lost my mind ages ago.


Thoughts on June 9th

Finally, something happened! My sweet darling savior Olivia spotted a reddish, transparent blob in a tree, and told me all about how lady Karita climbed up to have a look at it. It was about a foot across, and had wrapped itself around a branch. A thin thread dangled from the blob, and when Lady Karita poked at it with a stick, the blob fell to the forest floor before slowly making its way back up a tree again.

Magnar, being an experienced adventurer, has knowledge of these blobs. He explained that they hang in the trees, feeling for an unwary animal (or human) passing by. When something touches the dangling tentacle, the blob drops down upon them, and if it hits the poor creature’s head, the victim suffocates as the blob starts digesting it. Fortunately, Magnar knows that the blobs are afraid of fire, so everyone gets a torch, ready to be lit. He told us that there are green blobs too, but those are plant-eaters, so they’re no danger to us.

We kept spotting blobs after that, both red and green, and Magnar made a warning sign on the map. By pure luck, Lady Karita discovered a plant that was in the process of eating a blob, and brought it along to study it. She moved a little apart from the rest of us to have some privacy while experimenting with the plant, but she was so preoccupied with her study of it that she didn’t notice Magnar sitting down next to her, observing. I don’t know how she reacted when she finally noticed, because by then, I was a little preoccupied, too.


Thoughts on June 10th

Today we discovered first-hand how scared the blobs are of fire. After breakfast, while we were breaking camp, Kine suddenly found herself choking inside one of them. While I stood there dumbfounded, unable to gather my wits about me, she dove for the still smoldering fire. As she neared it, the blob slid off, letting her breathe again. Magnar threw himself to the ground, preventing Kine from getting burned by clumsily sticking his own head into the fire. Olivia, who usually is quite competent at doing first aid, accidentally ripped off some of Kine’s fur trying to treat the damage that the blob had caused with its toxic saliva.

We had a slow start today because of all the things that went wrong this morning, but in the afternoon, the geologist exclaimed that he had found what appeared to be a copper seam.

Olivia’s birthday is in one month, so I need to start thinking about what to give her for a present. Maybe I’ll find something in Garuk?


Thoughts on June 11th

At last, I got a good practice session again. While Kine and Magnar escorted the geologist around trying to map out the copper seam, the rest of us stayed in camp. Lady Karita worked on extracting a liquid from the blob-eating plant that could come in handy. I tied a rope between two trees and started the day with some balancing exercises, before moving on to other things. Why did I ever think that I needed a crowd watching me perform to be happy? All I need is Olivia. She even joined me on the rope for a while. She doesn’t have my extraordinary sense of balance, neither does she have much experience, but we’ve practiced together a few times, so with my help, she managed not to fall down. We did lower the rope first, though. I prefer the heights myself, but I wouldn’t want Olivia to get hurt.

In the afternoon, the mapmakers returned, satisfied with their work of the day.