The Romantic Tale

[Cody]

I wake up in a cold sweat at times. My tongue arched in anticipation. My eyes hungrily sweep over the darkness of my room. My fingers grasping. To feel the inviting heat of her plush buns over my hands again, fresh from her oven. My mind in this state becomes consumed with the thought of tasting lady Mariska's intoxicating placinte once more.

Her meals help inspire me to action in this down-trodden land they call Barovia, which is full to the kettle's brim with the common folk's oppressive fear of the night. I may not ever be the tallest man around, whatever height adolescence had for me has now been spent, and so I must ever eat more and more in order to bulk up in other ways to increase my strength and stature. Thankfully Helm had let me be born with a love of exotic food, and now I am here in this land serving to Ezra's will. Strange how things - or how the times change.

I feel this is the right path now. The warmth of her power courses like divine nourishment through me as if I were a babe suckling from Ezra's own breast. It is the nourishment of Her champions. She has chosen me as one of them I can't help but know. Even though I may sometimes make mistakes, I can only continue trying my hardest. Knowing She smiles upon me.  I am also thankful for the many friends I have made here who give me sound advice for the times I have fallen to the ground. I must continue to persevere with their help.

One day I hope I shall be able to inspire others to greater action, through my own deeds instead of relying on others. Am I grasping for goals too quickly I sometimes wonder? Or should I relent and show weakness through lack of conviction? Aside from dreams of Mariska's bread. I have nightmares now of Failure. How could I ever tell others when I must always present pure strength at all times? I must exude confidence from every fiber of my body for them. It is a heavy burden to bear.

Sometimes I pray there were two of me. Another incredibly handsome and powerful version of me would help solve quite a few problems. Yet that is pure fantasy. Thus I write my worries and silly fantasies away in this journal.

It is past time I update my Quest Log.
The old pages were becoming too worn.

* Spider Chitin
Hunt or harvest over 100 Monstrous Spiders in Barovia. Deliver the chitin to Lady Quiliti. 92/100 Gathered. 100/100 COMPLETE

* Pray to Ezra
Pray three times a day for greater power. May she bless my soul and those of the innocent.

* Defeat the Romulichs
Curtail their evil deeds in some way. Continue the watch for criminal activity. Watch over the Silver Aster establishment.

* Bring a Smile to an Anchorite's Face
One of the Torets of the Fifth Refuge has made a friend of mine sad with their refusal on certain policies within the temple. This must be corrected. We shall bring more souls into the temple at night to make it feel like home.

* Learn the ways of the Templars
Try to join their ranks. Surely the church would accept one of Ezra's champions.

* Defeat Evil
I must not forget this one. Scourge the Dark-hearted fiends. Or welcome them into Ezra's loving embrace. ONGOING.

* Visit Lady Nozomi's restaurant
I am curious to try Rokushiman cuisine.

* Path to Home
Is it possible to leave the Mists? After I complete my other duties?


The Quest Log of
AEGIS TALE

[Cody]

This year has been an eventful one, truly. I have faced death through one of the most painful, blackest of plagues to ever been witnessed in this land. My body had wasted away even while I was tended to most devotedly through prayers of my comrades and by the caring hands of many an elven maiden in the leafy halls of Degannwy. I could not even step out of bed to make it to Lady Mariska's divine bakery, but I was blessed to have friends in the locals who delivered Her freshest buns straight into my hands. Despite the ministrations of many, the skin of my hands slowly but surely, in great pain, split apart as it became bark-like underneath; while simultaneously my lungs became a breeding grounds for hundreds of dark spores that felt like hundreds of small shards of glass tearing inside me. The memories of all those nights spent with my spine arched in pain will never leave me. Yet through the power of my friends, especially those in the now banished Wayfarers Kinship, they were able to find the cure that reversed all of the terrible pains going through my body. Not only did they save me, but many others who had been afflicted by the first spores.

It took weeks to regain all of the hard-eaten muscle that withered from me. Yet even now that I am cured, I still feel the foul core of that evil sitting inside me. Dormant, but ever-reminding me of the efforts Our Enemy will spend to try to end us faithful servants. Perhaps one day I will be able to remove it, but for now it rests and does not cause me any further danger.


That was not the only challenge I faced though. I had suffered the loss of good friends. My faith tested. I have fought the horrors in an army of dolls created through the ingredients sourced by the dead resting in their silent graveyards. I have also had powerful servants of the Legion ambush me on multiple different nights: One a red-robed mage who captured me and tried to break my will with tools of torture; the other a red-haired seductress who stole the virginity of my chaste lips. Both memories that I will have to shamefully carry with me forever. I now must remember to always ward my mind against evil at night, and eat a morsel of Lady Mariska's garlic bread before crossing into the dark streets to shield my chastity against any other unpalatable vampiric harlots.

Barovia is deceptively beautiful, with its rolling green hills, blue lakes, and white-topped mountain peaks. Back home I would be hard-pressed to name a destination that could match it in all of its ugly history. I often wonder that in the face of this evil, what can one man do to stop it? Except that I am not alone any longer.

I am more happier to report that I have gained entry into the Holy Church's ranks as a temple guard. I proudly wear the green where-ever I go now. Though the Templar trial I had to overcome was one of the toughest challenges I have ever had to fight through—it was only thanks to the virtues of patience and diligence I survived wholly intact. Due to the secrecy involved by the inquisition in creating the trial for me I dare-not write further. Aside that the thought of bikini-clad women now summon bile into my throat.

Now. I am not merely one man any longer. I am officially a member of Ezra's personal forces, an ally in any land and town that knows and follows Her. I trust in the Grand Scheme that I will finally be able to complete the grand purpose I was brought here to do.
What shall my purpose be? That is a good question, self. I shall endeavor as always to be a Shield to all in our flock, and to those who do not yet know Her message. But not only that. I have learned that our beautiful, benevolent Goddess had left us many relics that can be used against the Foe. Relics that are hidden, lost, and the source of many rumors I must try to bring back to the flock.

The mere thought of a paladin such as myself combining the remnants of Ezra's shattered shield, holding it aloft in my arm as its holy golden light blinding the armies of the Legion is to shamefully glorious for me to fantasize on. As punishment for my vanity I will need to fast and skip tonight's second supper of honeyed sausages and Frida's strawberry rolls, and I daresay tomorrow's breakfast too. I must temper myself that I do not seek Ezra's prizes for their glory, but for the greater Good they would surely deliver!

Now. Onto updating the notes on all of my quests:

Eat at a new restaurant!
* Patronize any up and coming new businesses: Frida's Eatery
* Sample the entire menu!

Vigilance against the Nobles
* A family engrossed in what must be an entire network of deviously-schemed crimes. I must be ever vigilant against the Romulich family. They have not brought any attention to themselves recently, but that does not mean they are doing nought.

Find and slay the Evil Legion
* Our foes do anything from attacking the temple's grounds itself, our members, and the innocent. This duty I must ever be ready for.

Save a damsel in distress
* Rescue a beautiful elven maiden from the cusp of death from a band of savage ogres. COMPLETE

Tutor the recruits
* Many new faces are ever joining the Church now, in hopes of protecting the flock, or fighting the Legion figuratively or literally. I must help cultivate these souls, as I have been taught.

Search for Holy Relics for the Church!
* Many possible avenues: Danzig's Icons, The relics of sainted Bastions, Important followers, and Ezra's own Shield and Longsword!

The Quest Log of

AEGIS TALE