Kennit's Journal

[Kennit Tel-var]

Kennit's Journal

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Well, I said it would be an intresting day when my uncle convinced me to trouble myself with the petty affairs of Northern Brittannian, From the south all we hear is news of battles, slaughter, unspeakable crimes and tyranny of sorts, Nothing to pay a second moments notice too, Yet an intresting day it was, As a respectful Tel'Var i heeded the message of my uncle and post haste in booking passage on the slowest *scribbled out* fastest boat i could find and began my journey north, Bad food, Bad weather Worse Sailors, Upon arriving in Cove i must say. I expected a little more from the place, After all - My uncle Demarian Tel'Var is one of the most trusted members of the Tel'Var family name and a very respected man at home on the island of Ariala, I wouldnt of expected him to bless a place that doesnt even have decent drainage system put in, An an Orc Fortress around the other side of the Cliffs from the town itself, Yet it is not my place to question such things and i swiftly found the "Green Goblin" Tavern and Inn, Which to my suprise was a delightful little place, Although the common breeding of the people is clear to see, They were polite if not merry in their welcome .. Much similar to the Tavern Doxys in Trinsic, A pretty little Elf lass entered shortly after me looking ruffled and scuffled and quite dizzy, where i commented on the fun she must of had, She replied by saying "hardly" When i learned her "Boyfriend" was asleep, i must presume that frequently bedding with men and adultery of sorts are common here too, Hardly suprising but certainly welcome!
The food and wine was filling if not a little tasty, Hardly as satisfying as a three course meal in the south, I believe my Uncle did not exaggerate when he warned me to watch myself of the culture differences if not the living standards and conditions here, Yet there is a certain feeling of stability and safety that is true, tis strange indeed, I did not expect to end up here, but see'ing as i am now Enlisted in the service of one "Baron" Octiouvs Von Ricter under the watchful eyes of my Uncle, I shall make the best of my position for it, If my uncle protects this man as his sword then i cannot question that i should be proud too to ..

Upon meeting my "Cousin" Markus i can see what was meant by the "watered" bloodlines back home, It was made perfectly clear that even sharing the same name and blood wouldnt not stop this"cousin" from abusing and extorting his rank and power on me, As i soon found out after being shot at by a crossbow within the first minit of meeting the man, For not being able to distinquish between an order to remove my helmet or a curious remark, He bear's a resemblance to my dear cousin, his sister Rossete .. Though i would certainly say she has more of the traits of their father, including common sense .. Word has it this "Cousin" Markus of mine is married too!  Imagine it, Well .. It is not my place to judge who the man takes into his bedsheets, But pray tell its not some backwater country whore, i cant see that going down too well with relatives, ... but then again .. when has my Uncle ever cared for the impression on others? Especially relatives, especially OUR relatives .. heh heh heh

A swift if not forced haircut was inflicted on me, As well as a session of "Battle training" In which i must say i felt very sorry for the fellow who cast about these magics .. It would appear that some places here in the north are not as enlighted as the South .. Magery is off'times seen as wytchecraft .. though i expect this is just an excuse and reason to burn poor innocent mages and old woman on personal grounds ..  After a severe if not harsh beating of this poor fellow, In which i was suprised at his swift recovery, they must breed them tough in the north, If not rugged for a mage
 Very good to loosen up my sword arm & get the blood flowing, I would agree that i'v spent far too long lavishing the family fortune in Trinsic and i can say im looking forward to getting back on Form ...

Now time to go and find some breakfast

[Kennit Tel-var]

Power and Authority often have a way of corrupting people, We are fortunate indeed that we have the guidance of the avatar and his church with their knowledge of the virtues. The sad truth though is that most people who have great power over others don't use it well. Their ambitions are usually selfish, and there is often nobody strong enough to hold them to account for their wrongdoing's. Such is what i often find on the mainland.

After a brief patrol around the local area, I posted myself at the entrance to the Covian town-main and kept a watch on it for a good hour or so, It was hardly exciting and not much happened aside from a pesky small goblin like creature poking me with a stick until i shuffled him on, It would appear such creatures are tolerated in Cove, I couldn't care less in the slightest what they do, So long as they don't cause me any trouble, yet it vexes me as to the hippocritical attitude of it all, For the common gossips and speaking out against such kinds, Many seem overly friendly with them, I can only assume that each person speaks for themselves only.
I decided as is best in the morning to pay a kind and courteous wake up call the Orcs, And gathering what one i could interpret as *tax* from them to the sum of three thousand gold pieces, It was soon after this morning exercises that i went to the Green Goblin to find myself some breakfast, I'd worked up an apatite and was famished.

Upon arriving it was quiet, if not hospitable, though i cannot say i approve of the carefree and *wobbly* attitude of the lass with skinny little ankles behind the bar, She looks like she has a touch of Gypsy in her, Honestly! running around in barefeet!  Has she no shame!? Although she was very pretty, she seemed to have trouble forming sentences, And has a stutter to her words, My sympathies for her were short lived though as it took the better part of three tries for her to get my order right,. When not staring at me with a vacant kind of awe she was staring at her feet if it wasn't the floor, But to her Merit!  Her cooking was delicious!
If not the very best so far since arriving from Trinsic, I shall be sure to see she cooks for me again!

It was not soon after this that a young girl, Seemingly aged between fifteen and sixteen entered the Green Goblin, She was dressed in rags and smelt as if she had just been out to clean out a Pigsty, She reminded me of a Ragdoll, I was a tad shocked at first then my propriety reminded me of my lessons, I was completely unaware that people were allowed to walk around let alone live like this in Cove, I was told to expect lower standards, but for a mere child to not have clothes appropriate to her, Was simple unacceptable and disgusting!An elf soon walked out from a corner i hadn't seen him sitting at and returned with a pitcher of milk for the girl, Most unusual. The Barefooted lass provided the lass with a bowl of soup which was compassionate if not suitable, And seemed to priorities rubbing noses and wispering to the Elf instead of see'ing to the customers!
I demanded then and there that the barmaid take the girl upstairs and wash her thouragly, And Garb her appropriately and set up her in lodgings till the relevant people could deal with her .. Then it occurred to me that it was unlikely that the North had a "minimum" living standards enforced on its people, Nor a fund that pays towards their welfare, after all it would cost the local authority gold to set up an orphanage let alone a Shelter for those less fortunate than myself let alone feed them! The barmaid seemed stupefied if not clueless of my request, I expect she neither is familiar with the benefits of bathing, Which is to be forgiven i suppose. It did turn out that a "Knight" had paid for the upkeep of this girl, including her lodgings and food, As the Elf told me, This "Knight" must be blind if not righteously ignorant in his charity if it did not occur to him to do something worthwhile, I'm sure such is the way with men of standing here, A act of compassion is hardly going to make a difference to the girl, But will certainly charm people and give him a feeling satisfaction, a few meals and a bed are -not- a living nor going to do her any good longterm,  I'm sure it didn't even occur to him to provide her with a pair of shoes at least, Nor possible help her find some work so she might better herself, As promised to my Uncle i headed towards the barracks to set out and put up recruitment banners for the Covian army, Only to find there was little more than four pamphlet's and recruitment books, So i set myself to sorting this and headed towards New Haven to scribe more up, After organising my backpack and completing two bags of them which i later put in the barracks, I set about putting banners up in Haven, Luna, Manioc, Umbra, Yew, Trinsic, Britain And Jhelm, Only finding and speaking to one person myself about the endless possibilities in the service of the Baron, I returned to Cove to repair my Kit, shine my boots and have a smoke of ***** *scribbles out* Pipeweed

[Kennit Tel-var]

Tis been an eventful few days, iv been kept extreamly busy with my duties as well as by my Uncle, also had a frightful nightmare last night, which i put down either to lack of sleep or overwork, I highly dought it is anything more sinister than a bad dream. As always this morning i paid my morning wake up call to the Orcs and had my fun with them, Also since the Green Goblin is now closed, I'v had to resort to other means to brake my sleeping fast, This also includes helping myself *scribbles out* BUYING a delicious meat pie in the window of one of the local houses *scribbles out* SHOPS, Also been kept busy with the often patrols and sentry duties from building blockades to patrolling the local town and woods, Spotted a lovely little minx out in the woods with a strange hat, Most curious indeed. Spent this afternoon showing a new recruit around the barracks and part of the local town, before he needed to go to attend to some "business" hes was a local man from Cove, so im almost certain he knows the area better than me, speaking of which it might do me well to get one of the scouts to show me some of the local area, I got lost in the woods after going out to piss in the trees, Most humilating for one such as i. Met a Gargoyal fellow named Seggalion who was polite and incredibly helpful in writing me up some copies of the Covian recruitment books.

If i am ever in need of a scribe, I shall be sure to look him up in the township of Haven, A strange and suspicious looking fellow in blue was lurking around the Church before i ushered him on, but for good measure i stood a watch on the doors, and not to my suprise he returned afew minits later to his shock to find me waiting inside for him, He assured me his intentions were purely honest but after refusing to let me search him for anything unseemly he bolted for the nearby hedgegrowth, honestly!  as if im going to chase him without reason, Obviously a man who is generally paranoid if not having something to hide. Also ran into the odd little Goblin man who tried to hassle me the other day, Always poking and pinching with his little stick, He was speaking to another of the Guardsman and gibbering at me about something, Asking what he might want and encouraging him to talk he then proceeded to give me a hearty thrashing with his walking stick!  The Shame Of It! I was too lost for words to anything but recoil from the blows, I shall approach small creatures with sticks and the sort with caution from now on .. Also, Ill draw a small picture of the thing in my nightmare for good measure 

[Kennit Tel-var]

Well, The past two weeks have certainly been exciting and eventful if not downright disappointing as well, It would seem my long hours of work have been noted as i have been promoted to the rank of watchman, I'm almost certain my uncle has nothing to do with it, Seeing how much work iv put in recently in keeping the barracks secure if not the local town.

Stranger yet is the increasing feeling of insecurity surrounding the church, I now have SEEN with my own eyes the radical and backwater attitude of the clergy here, It is one thing for a man to be found guilty of heresy, It is another to flaunt it like some sort of carnival playshow, It was almost like the pantamine in Britain, NO, it was BETTER than the pantamine in Britain, Except it wasn't a wooden sword to the heart, It was real flames engulfing some fellow while he screamed and shouted out loud. I'm certain this torch waving maniac called Roland, the local "Templi" I'm told, is mad.  He was like a schoolboy aflutter, skipping and jumping around the pyre like a Orc dancing to the beat of a drum, Crying Hay'shay and Words of encouragement to the Guardsmen present, The funniest part is that he was attacked by a local mercenary who was swiftly put down, Pity the other guardsmen didn't wait a moment for the Church man to be gutted like a fish. Poor Thomas could of at least had a good honest hanging that way .. .. .... ........ .. .....

Turns out the fellow who's name was Thomas had freed a prisoner from the local cells who's name is "Mischief"  Honestly! These people giving themselves such sweet little alias, Its almost as if they don't want to be remembered at all for all their hard work .. Or maybe they just don't want to be recognised .. Either way it is of little importance, Freeing a prisoner is a heavy crime and given the circumstances, a guardsmen springing someone from the very cells he is suppose to guard is even worse!  Such a man is not fit to wear a Uniform..  I've also come to the conclusion that a fellow I've seen recently, I believe his name is Delferium suffers from some sort of problem, Given what i have seen and heard myself including rocking backwards and forwards on a stool in the middle of the woods muttering to himself, shouting and gibbering random and incoherent words at people, Also shouting crude and petty insults at anyone who doesn't acknowledge him, And not including his obviously lust for blood when he spat and shouted with a fury i thought only a rabid dog capable of at the unfortunate Thomas fellow, It turns out he himself is a member of the Grenadiers my Uncle was once a member of, The man obviously suffers from dementia or some other disease of the mind, either that or he was beaten fairly often as a babe, So i can only feel a strong sense of sympathy and tolerance for his wild ways, They are to be forgiven, Which also leads me to believe that he is tolerated out of pity if not for his fighting prowess as i learned at the Armsmaster tournament, He would be a useful man to have around in a battle, Maybe he can be encouraged with scraps of food or a bottle of ale here or there to be where i need him in the worst of times ... Or maybe not, Despite his jittery exteria i suspect a measure of intelligence remains

Speaking of which, This Edward fellow, A Guardsmen Recruit, must be one of the best shows with a crossbow I've seen in my life, The man is not at all fit or able of body but he is certainly a talented archer, I could learn allot from this man so i will be sure to keep an eye out for him and seek his wisdom on the use of a ballistic weapon.

Aside from my foot patrols of the local area, cleaning of rubbish and sorting of unruly civilians, I ran into an obnoxious and deliberately subservient woman in the barracks who carried the posture but certainly NOT the grace of a noblewoman, I can only take a guess that this is Coves attempt at a ruling elite, She was sat in the barracks with the look of sour milk reading a book and sniffing her fingernails in a odd way.  Given my express orders are to allow NO civilians and NO strangers into the barracks, I asked her who she was, to which she resorted by sniffing her nose and throwing a book at me! Either she wanted me to read it or she was insulted by my question, I am unaware of which it was!
Given after a good five minits she hadn't answered my question, She picked her rump arse up and tottered over to the door at the same time as another veteran guardsmen came in, She woman explains in a huff the situation and she was being ousted, When in truth i hadn't done anysuch thing!  I followed the other guardsmen lead of flattery and careful slow explanation and acknowledge of the lady, Who seems to think wearing a pretty dress and allot of gems excuses her from the law that every other civilian in cove is bound by, Turns out shes some sort of "head" merchant and has the ear of the baron, If that's the case i feel VERY sorry for the baron, And can only guess that it is people like her that have contributed to the problems that many folk speak of involving cove recently, I am however quite certain it is more than her trading skills that he likes to put to use ... He He He

Either way .. I'm well used to dealing with uppity nobles and the like, Often the best method is to let them humiliate themselves, Especially when they are looking for a reason to complain or make a problem, Even the worse of villians and snobs is smart enough to know when to call it quits, The Veteran gave me a firm pat on the shoulder and lightened my mood by telling me that he had complete faith i would learn the "Political" dance of the local politics, I hope so ..

[Kennit Tel-var]

Well, Its been a very active and enjoyable few days, despite the occasional spook and whisper of witchcraft, stranger yet young teenagers conjuring fireballs in the palms of their hand is even stranger.

A couple of nights ago i spent some time eating a meal in the Green Goblin, The Elfish Minstress is a swift cook who prepared my meal in no time at all! very impressive! either some special method is being used or they have it already cooking ready for me, I believe the latter is more likely given the subtle comments on my increasing chubbiness it seems.
Hurmrmr, I had the fortune to meet the Captain Hoagies Daughter, a miss Scarlet, She at first insisted on making a nuisance of herself but later seemed to get her act together, and it turns out shes quite an intelligent young lady, full of attitude and charisma too, Even better was her grasp and knowledge of things i wouldn't of thought her capable of, She can ignite fire out of the air around her, I wish i could do such a thing, It would come in handy on the long patrols or expeditions in dark places and tunnels. The arrogantly ignorant Miss Elaine of Vesper has insisted on visiting the Green Goblin around the same time as me recently, I thought very highly of her at first but it seems first appearances can be very deceiving indeed. And its frustrating if anything, I don't believe I've met anyone who considers themselves either accepted, better than or just plain above us common guardsmen OR the people of Cove, Who does she think she is to look down her nose at them so? The way she snubs people is disgusting! I cant understand what on earth the Captain was thinking of letting that Viper into his bed, worse yet letting her wrap her gangly legs around him, In all her strutting and snobbery she failed to realise that although she is the mother of his child, his OTHER child was sitting in the room present when she sought to shout as us just exactly what happened, A lack of guilty conscience maybe, There must be some matter of truth the gossip the other Guardsmen talk about. I cant understand why she insists on pestering the poor man as its been made clear he doesn't want to see her or have anything to do with her, One would suspect there is more to her frequent irritating visits than meets the eye, She neither wants to claim any support for her child nor come to an arrangement with the man, as was made clear by her while i was eavesdropping *scribbled out* listening to her outside the barracks So why does she insist on bothering him?  I've not the foggiestwhat motivates such a person, Maybe lack of attention? I'm sure theres plenty of soldiers who would be quite willing to give it to her, heh heh


On a better note i had the good privilege to share a bottle of liquor with a Vesperian who was bringing a message in the Goblin, I cant understand half the nasty rumours that are circulating. The Baron himself came to see us parade before the freedom festival, I was worried the dock was going to collapse at one point under all the weight and armour, Fortunately it didn't.
The Parade and Barons speech were going very well and was most enjoyable until something VERY disturbing happened, It seems some ill-bred, swag bellied, hedgeborn lout in armour decided it appropriate to mystically appear in the middle of our Barons speech and interupt him, I Can certainly see why the Ye-wish are viewed as paunchy, yeasty faced, rump fed fools when it comes to showing respect to their betters and allies, Although from the reception the other soldiers gave them i would hardly say any of them consider the Ye-wish friends, with the exception of one or two who have frequently visited us and provided entertainment and good companionship, After listening to the other guardsmen it seems many consider the Ye-wish to of risen to the occasion of exploiting the Covian Army's protection of their borders and that it is time for a change and a very independent Cove. The Ye-wish didn't at all seem to appreciate the moment in which all Northern forces could celebrate a general feeling of liberty, And stormed off when the Vesperians arrived to join in the merrymaking!  It was a good night even so and i finally bested my Cousin Markus in combat, though i believe it had something to do with his wife distracting him. 

Spent one whole night lost down some tunnels in which Wakefield led us on a roaming hunt of sorts, among the many other things we've done. We were forced to kill many strange red creatures in long damp dark tunnels underground, We found a strange oasis too, Ill return another time to get a better look around.
I would think the Scouts would train their men and hopefulls better so they don't get us lost as has frequently happened, I believe it was Wakefields own sheer grit and thinking that saved us and no amount of training from the Scouts, Either way we're clearly in safe hands with him.