This is utter bullshit.

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit bullshit, bull-fucking shit.

I feel like an idiot. Like a little girl caught in the too-fast current of a river, lucky to even keep my head above water.

I don't like being played, I don't like not knowing what the fuck is going on, I don't like change, and I don't like feeling this fucking confused and tired all the time.


Let me just- take a breath and start from the begining.

Okay, right, I'm better now. So yeah, last we left off, Lim'd headed to the Citadel to bring back reinforcments. Illoria was taken by the enemy, probably dead- although Ann got warned by- a friend, let me say, and no more then a very special friend, of ours- named Toby who knows a lot more then any human would. He warned her Illoria was alive and not to be trusted.

So yeah, we had our druid kidnapped, two kidnapped spiders-that-were-not-spiders, one very evil creature we dubbed the 'Eater' still on the loose, one hell of a powerful enemy, a bunch of dark elves that seemed to constantly be on the wrong side of the month.

Yeah, this was gonna be fun.

These beast-creature people things I don't know what went about preparing for battle. The men we'd brought up in the first place, the ones hunting for fantastic creatures at this Countess's place, they high tailed it outta there.

They're not bad guys- it's just I don't trust them. I guess the leader a little more then his men- he saved Ann's ass, after all. But whatever my feelings on them, I couldn't blame them, either.

Not their fight, not their problem. They were in this for money, not to fight a war. Hell, any other situation, and I mighta gone, too.

I stayed because Ann wanted this, and I figure I owe her one. Plus, I felt a little responsible for her, protective of her I guess, being that I was the only one not just willing to let her die to break her fucking word.

I stayed because of King, too. I was curiouse and interested in him. He seemed like a decent enough guy. Enough issues to keep you busy for a few months and a temper like fucking fire, but does that make a bad person?

I hope not, otherwise we're all screwed. If I could look pointedly at Ann here, I think I would. Imagine me doing that. And laughing. Quietly. Very quietly.

No, in all seriouseness, I have a bit of a temper, too; so does Lim, so does Illoria. (Yes, I used pressent tense, as in not dead. We'll get to that.) Ann's not the only one.

But yeah. I found big furry in the woods and thanked him for his help (got the brush off) and tried to find out who he is and who his master is. I got the brush off with that one, too. I hadn't expected anything else.

Apperantly Ann followed me, which may be part of why I didn't get my answers.

Not that I blame her or am upset at her- I don't and I'm not. She followed me to make sure I didn't die. But King was aware of her before I was, and maybe reluncant to share for that reason. Or maybe he just didn't want to tell me. Who knows? Anyway, he refused to help with the upcoming battle, and after he'd informed me Ann was following me (and that he'd killed Shane's best friend, now brought back in the form of a huge white ape) he slipped off again.

Yeah, King killed Shane's friend. We'd known it was a werewolf. But even then, I withheld judgment. There are two sides to every story. And somehow I doubted this was just cold blooded murder for the fun of it.

This whole plotline was way too complex for that. Shane and Ivy and King and Talice- the elven lord(?) currently residing over the town under attack- was such a twisted tangle that we all might wind up strangling in it.

So, finnally, hours later, Lim gets back.

Bringing a fucking battleship.

Elven warship, it turned out, filled to the brim. Elves, wizards, clerics, human soilders, everything but the fucking building. There were over two hundered people inside that ship. And there were our beast-creature army on the ground, along with Shane. Even without the aid of a powerhouse were, I started to feel much more optomistic.

Our attack began roughly two hours before nightfall. Quietly at first; then the arrival of our air forces, and with their approch, all fucking hell broke loose.

I hate to admit it, but it was fun. In a terrifying, exhillarating way. In one great rush, our beast people- sorry, the beast people- charged, full fucking speed, on all fours like the animals they partly were, and started devistating a path inside. Arrows flew to meet them, but they didn't even flinch.

I didn't get to see much beyond that- I was too busy fighting myself. All of us were. I was dully aware of Ann's arrows, of bursts of magic illuminating the sky around me, destorying the woodland around me in great, burning balls of fire that passed by way too close to be entirely comfortable.

Of course, the enemy matched us.

Once inside, we were surrounded by the hum of magic, of power.

Oh hell yeah, things were going our way.

Even when the beholders popped up.

Now, these things, beholders- they're scary fucks, they are. Imagine a floating ball of dog shit, just as big or bigger then a person. Now, cover this stinkin' peice of unnatural filth with eyes and a way-too-big mouth with teeth like a preditor. Give it a pretty little attina right on top of it's ugly head. Now, add in a nasty ass attitude and just enough brains to be worried about, and you got yourself a rough sketch of a beholder.

They started nullifing the magic around us. They can do that.

I told you, nasty little shits.

But with our forces, we got worried for about two seconds. Then the beast creatures jumped on these turds with eyes and when they used magic to lash back, well, so did our side.

Yeah, fuck you, too. Heh.

And deeper into the mouth of the enemy we went.

We then had to face the Eater itself- the strange thing that killed me. Now, lemme tell you, this thing is so fucking scary to look at- it's not like anything you've ever seen. Ever. In fact, you mostly can't look at it; it's so bad it'll scare you stiff, like it did Ann.

So we go charging in, and just like that, we all freeze up.

I don't really know what happened. All I heard was Lim scream. Forever, it seemed like. I get the shivers, now. I understand that scream.

Then something slammed into our enemy and saved his ass.

Gerar- the big ape that used to be Shane's friend, before King killed him. That monster tackled the real monster, and they started grappling.

Now, this is the odd bit.

The moment I could move again, I saw her- this tiny little gnome in the corner. She was staring at the thing, unable to move or speak until I yanked her around so she wasn't looking at it. She blinked and shook herself.

Now, Lim had come back with more then an army. He'd brought pressents, too. One was a box; a big chest. He'd said he'd gotten it from the man he left our Spindler with.

The gnome ran over to heal- yes, I said heal, apperantly she could- Lim, and when he could, he rose and opened that box. He had a stone he'd gotten from the man, too, and no sooner did he pull it out then did the thing in the box- all gears and metal peices- reach out and snatch it inside.

The little one nearly had a hissy fit. She was babbling about the Taint and whatnot- the Taint being an- illness(?)- that turns people into....things that aren't. People, that is, if you catch my meaning. Not exactly sure what it does to them. If I've seen it, I forget, honestly, and I don't have a mind to find out. I just know it turns you into something less or more then human then kills you.

I was less then concerned with it at the moment.

We pretty generally ignored the poor thing or brushed her off. I mean, the thing that came out of this box-

The others had seen something like it before. They'd told me about it, called it Garlic, though Ann said it had another name. But from what else they told me, I don't think I'd better say much more about it. Like I said the first time I wrote, if someone finds this....Yeah. I've probably said enough already to fuck us all.

So this this, this mechanical person, almost, comes out of the box and starts hacking apart whatever Lim tells it to. This thing moves like the best fighter or swordsman you can imagine, almost. In another situation, I may have been happy just to watch. Pretty facinating.

But we had other things to do. We had a dryder to get at.

Lim called this thing- they've started calling it Gensing, for fuck's sake, what is with the fucking plants?- off of whatever he had it fighting at the moment and brought it- him- down into the main room with us. Where this creature was supposed to be.

See, this is where we fucked up like, majorly bad.

Normally we don't just rush in without a plan. But we did this time. And we shot down the first thing that moved in the room.

Which just happened to be Illoria.

Yeah. Yeah, we killed the druid. Or rather, Ann and Lim did. But I didn't exactly stop them. Bit of a shock when the dead body of your companion drops down in front of you, just about naked as you please and pretty throughly ravaged.

Yeah, Ann got pissed. I just got a little sick to my stomach.

Lim drags her body out of the room and this fucking laughter starts up, like this thing's just so fucking smart. Ann's hollaring taunts back like a child, temper clicked on full, but the laughter was all there was. Well, that and a dark elf.

She got away, though. I mean, I was right there, ready to just impale the bitch- Ann had already tried- after some of the shit the stupid, blind sheep said to us, but she vanished like a shadow before I got the chance.

In other words, they all ran away. Cowardly fucks. They ran, the temple we fought them in fell. Collapsed back under the ground just as we got out.

The little gnome lady offered to preserve Illoria's body until we could find a way to heal her spirit and bring her back to life.

Now see, here things get tricky. Toby said that Illoria was taken, was the enemy now. I'm sorry, but I was for burning her and making sure that whatever may have corrupted her was well and truely dead.

But Lim- he was desperate to save her. Funny, the tables were turned only weeks ago, when Ann lay close to death and I wanted to save her . Illoria and Lim wanted her dead.

Anyway, I stopped caring halfway through the argument.

He loaded her body up on the airship, and here came round two.

See, Lim was also determined to wage a war on another race. That of vampires that we knew, now, were in that same little town. We knew of at least one there.

Apperantly there were more. I didn't pay much attention when Lim informed us he was lashing out at the vampires, but I sure as fuck did when the clergy he sent out there came back hours later.

Dead.

And pissed.

And ugly as fuck.

And did I mention pissed?

I have never in my life done a three sixty the way I did that night. Seriously. It was- 'look, injured, I think I'll be selfless for once and try to help!'

'.....oh FUCK!'

I think I threw dirt backwards, I ran back to that airship so fast.

Undead and Seimi do not a good combination make.

Luckily, they dispersed pretty quickly. And into the airship we all clambered, ready to get the hell away. Except for Ann, who had 'unfinished business' below and was bound and determined to get herself killed by going back down.

I followed her, of course. I knew what was down there, and I wasn't leaving it to her alone. They refused to let us stay down or stop to let us off, so we repelled off the side of a moving airship. And, with the deft grace and skill known to our class of people, with the acrobatic ease and talented, lithe manipulation of our bodies to take any damage from a fall and come out on top-

-we both landed wrong and had bruises for the next week.

After out recovery- we didn't do that, you didn't see a thing, damn you- we were left below, in the monistary.

We came under attack not long after. Ghosts. Spirits, reliving- something. Fuck only knows what. But we soon found out they were doing something else, too- holding off the vampires outside. Lotta good it did; within minutes, they were in.

And behind these undead creatures came one trumped them all. Ivy.

I know, big shock, right? We'd all known she wasn't exactly normal. Though I, for one, hadn't fully expected vampire. Still, I was not stunned.

Behind her came King. Ivy made her way in, past what I could only assume were underlings of a sort, and embraced Ann.

And then bit her.

I tensed, of course, and my hand drifted without real conciouse thought to my dagger, but King was right there, a big warning not to move, not to even blink wrong......and I didn't really want to.

I wasn't getting threatening vibes, here. No danger vibes at all. Just uncertianty and confusion.

She pulled back after a moment, and started to speak.

She explained everything; every lie, every deception- well, maybe not every, but I'm sure close to every as she ever got. She explained why she'd done the things she'd done, she and Thalice and Shane, manipulating us into trying to get that diary, playing us like a game of chess, and then ended on a depressing note; the damned thing'd been stolen anyway.

Because of Lim and his big fucking fast ass can't keep it shut mouth.

Besides that lovely jewl of information, we also had the news that the town we'd fought so hard to save was lost. We'd lost it, again thanks to Lim, mostly.

I'm going to kill him. Murder his stupid, pretend-grand ass.

I then got the pleasure of being thanked by King. For not judging him too quickly. But like I told him, it's not the race, it's the person. And I happen to think he's a decent guy. So there, Illoria, fuck you. Humph. And we got some pretty kick ass allies, from what I gathered.

And I also got the pleasure of being a fucking voyure for a moment or too, watching Ann and Ivy dancing their little seduction act together. Yea, Ann's all hot 'n bothered for Ivy, and Ivy's got the itchies for her, too. Now, I don't got a problem in the world with that- ain't the gender of the person you love, it's the person- but come on. I do not want to sit there and watch you two suck on each other and get all catty and coy.

Get a room, for fuck's sake!

Damn, Illoria and Lim (I swear, they have a thing.) and now what, Ann and Ivy? I'm feeling all left out in the cold here.

Of course, all I got to do is touch the ring around my neck for that to change. I'm apperantly married, like I said before, and I mean, we had to be in love once for that to happen, right?

I....really hope so. I'm not entirely sure that's true.

Anyway. Vampire-romance moment over, Ivy told us Thalice and Shane- brothers, by the way, and not mortal enemies as we were lead to belive, and not elven, either- were on the move, and Thalice, at least, had wished to get to know us better.

That sentiment was and is returned.

She told us where they were going, and we moved to cut them off. Luckily for us we stopped in town to see if there was anyone around or anyone that needed help, otherwise we coulda been looking for a really long time.

Thalice and Shane had gathered all the towns people in one building for the night, and were preparing to move out in the morning. He saw us as we were investigating the inn- or maybe he heard us, we weren't exactly being quiet- but he waved us inside. We didn't know it was him until he removed his helm, and yeah, that was a well. Aren't we just stupid? moment.

He was taking these people somewhere safe, over the mountians to the west, he explained. He'd decided to stop pretending to be a leader and start really being one. He lead us to Shane, and we discussed more there- about the diary and Shane and Gerar and King and Thalic and Ivy, about where they would go and what they would do. Turned out Shoulwater- one of the two places we call home- was right on the way to where they were going, and so we decided to travel with them. And allow them to stay in one of our two- yes, you heard me right, two- keeps for the night.

We also got to make yet another interesting new friend.

A gargoyle. He lurked in the shadows behind Shane and Thalice, yet another creature used to being judged and feared. I was really starting to hate being classed in a group of people called 'humans' who stupidly judged and feared whatever they didn't control or understand.

Personally, I think he was pretty incredible. Scary yes, but incredible.

I think my favorite moment of that night was when Ann could not stop staring at him, and he became instantly defensive. 'What'? He grunted, in this kind of akward, really deep voice.

'You're amazing'. Was Ann's reply, and it was all I could do not to just burst out laughing right there. Sometimes, she sticks her foot in her mouth. And then there are times when she just saves the day.

Both Thalice and the creature seemed pleased.

At least, until they saw the bite wounds.

They didn't make a huge deal out of it, besides warning her to find darkness by morning. She refused to hide from the sun, and I was given a heavy black cloak by one of the brothers. Just in case, as he said.

And so we headed out the next morning.

Here's where Illoria comes back into the story, folks.

Remember I said Lim took her to the Citadel, deseperate to find a way to help her? It um- sort of worked, anyway. Lim couldn't bring her back there, so he came to out keep with her body. And then he did something kind of stupid. He asked the dryad living in the woods near our keep to bring her back.

Illoria is now a black bear. And Lim Dul.....he's not worth much, the state he's in.

So, we got home.

Only to find it- utterly differant. We had an accountant, now, and a system to move the fish in the business we'd set up too and from places- dwarven transport, tracks, lifts, everything running smoothly like a real business.

And in it all, of course, was Lord Talron, right at the heart. He'd taken over everything just as though he belonged there, and, after recovering from my imprumptue hug, informed us he was staying.

Yeah. Okay. I'm exhausted, terrified, sore, worn down, and now have to deal with an emarrasry from the citadel. One of my friends is dead, and that is something to certianly be remorseful about.....to a degree.

But overall?

Things are looking up. Hehe.