A Jorune Chronicle

Sasha's journal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Rhouf's journal.

Skyrealms of Jorune game, running in Edinburgh once a month - the GM can be contacted at abbadon@abbadon.fsnet.co.uk

extracts from the journal of Sasha Tibardi

273 - Very tired. Have been working for days on not enough sleep trying to treat all the sick who are brought to the learsis station. I think the woman with the bad abdominal wound will probably live. We reached her just in time.
The latest bad news is that the dam appears to have suffered further damage, so many of our staff are being moved there.

274 - Leyndris [the chief Learsis] arrived just as I was packing up to go to sleep last night. A man called Glowsh had come down from the mountains pleading for a learsis to come and help a woman in labour there. Since it had taken him two days of travel to reach us and will take us at least another day to get there I'm afraid we will be too late, but I suppose we must try. Details of last night's journey are hazy in my memory. I recall a pibble jumping out at me, lots of climbing, and several times our guide disappeared into the darkness without warning. I must have fainted, I think. I woke around noon today in our camp and had no idea how I had reached this place.
I am surprised by Leyndris's choice of escort for me. I suppose things are so chaotic below that in the end there wasn't much choice. His friend the Bronth circus fighter, known as Mr Snow is here, as is a woffen ger called Rhouf who had only just arrived in camp with another message for Leyndris. The final member of our group is a crugar called Hassan, I think he has been sent here to atone for something he did in his own country. It is clear that neither Rhouf nor Mr Snow trust the crugar.
Today we travelled as far as the foot of a cliff. We need to climb it tomorrow in daylight when we are rested.
Checking my pack tonight I noticed that the shirm-eh had been taken from it. I also spotted Glowsh gathering shirm-eh as we travelled. I pretended to believe that I had forgotten to pack shirm-eh and asked Glowsh for some of what he had collected. He was reluctant, but handed it over.
I wonder if he trades with the ramian?

275 - Late at night we arrived at the place Glowsh had told us the sick woman lived, but it was a trap.
We have been captured by two cleash who have with them three ramians, and much more surprisingly a thriddle and three thrivin. I have no idea why a thriddle and thrivin would choose the company of ramain and cleash.
At the top of the rock chimney we met a group of military people out on patrol. Maybe we stand a chance of being rescued if there are patrols in this area.
The military people had a crugar with them, and also a ramian prisonner. Hassan did not like the other crugar. He says she was from an assassin cult. The ramain escaped while we were there and Rhouf helped to recapture it. It was badly injured and they wanted it to live long enough to be interrogated so I healed its wounds for them. They left on talmaron and we continued on our way. Hassan seemed a lot more relaxed once we left them. He walked with me on the trail and told me about his homeland.
Another pibble jumped out at me and Hassan and Mr Snow came to my rescue. I have no idea what a pibble is doing so far up in the mountains nor why both the pibbles we have encountered have chosen me as their target.
Now Hassan is very sick with some kind of poison which I cannot cure and Mr Snow was wounded by crossbows while trying to talk to our captors. I have removed the bolts but his wounds are serious. He needs to rest for several days at least.
I don't understand what cleash would want with a human learsis, but it is clearly me that the trap was intended for. Glowsh was sent down from the mountains to find a learsis. I tried to persuade the thriddle to allow the wounded and Glowsh's family to remain here while I travelled on with them alone, but he said that the cleash would not consider it.
It seems that Glowsh's son was killed before we arrived, although his wife and daughter are still held hostage here.
His treachery may have killed us all, but I pity him.

275/2 - Hassan was cured of the poison by the thrivin. He and Rhouf plan to try to escape. Mr Snow will try to create a distraction by faking an attack of fever. Mr Snow is unable to walk as yet. I am too slow to run away, but if I stay in camp while the others run I may be able to help their escape by interfering with pursuit. I hope they make it to the dam. It is only two miles away, but the terrain is very bad and they will have to scale a steep cliff to reach it.
Mr Snow and I expect to die, but we will die as well as we can. Our people must be warned that ramian and cleash are here.
Send my thoughts to my parents, you who read this diary. I hope that my death is not in vain.

275/3 - Glowsh, Mr Snow and I are captive on the top of a very high mountain. We reached here through a warp gate made by the thriddle.
I think Rouff and Hassan escaped the ramians. Glowsh's daughter also escaped. The thrivin tried to shoot her with their crossbows as she ran but I knocked them over. Glowsh's wife was killed by the cleash, but they left the rest of us unharmed. They must have some plan which needs us alive.
I managed to leave a message at the camp before we travelled through the warp gate and I also dropped my spare dress, which is a bright colour, over the side of the mountain here. If Rhouf and Hassan manage to reach the dam and get help for us then scouts might see it and be able to follow our trail here.

276 - We had barely got to sleep last night, after an excellent meal cooked by the thrivin, when there was some kind of alarm and we were dragged down a tunnel into the mountain.
I am now preparing medicine for the most evil creature I have ever seen. It looks rather like a ramian, but bigger and black in colour. It has been cut almost in two by some hero, but it still lives, in spite of a wound which should have killed it. The thriddle calls it 'Master' and it holds all the others in thrall.
I have also made a painkiller for Mr Snow and he has managed to hide it where he can reach it quickly. He is still badly hurt, but if the chance comes for us to run maybe the painkiller will give him enough strength to try and escape. There is a chance his wounds will open again, of course. It is very dangerous for him to try to run so soon after being injured, but if we stay here then we will definitely die. The thriddle admits that we will be released into the Isho when the evil creature is well enough to be moved.

278 - Rhouf and the soldiers arrived just in time to save us being forced through a gate to who knows where. We are back at the dam. Mr Snow continues to recover well. Other than that, I must not say much. The military advised us not to speak of the great ramian to anyone.


[ After the incident with the great ramian, Sasha moved back to Ardoth and worked in a large hospital. ]

364 - The burns case is improving and the eye infection seems to be clearing up. Unfortunately the stroke case is no better. I've suggested more exercise, but her family prefer to let her sit still while they wait on her.
Bardou [Mr Snow's real name] came round for dinner. He's got a sprained shoulder and has opened the cut on his leg again. I bandaged him up and told him again that it wasn't sensible to fight two or three times in a week. He won't listen to me, though.
I tried to speak to his agent about it, but their official doctor has cleared him to fight again the day after tomorrow. He's making a lot of money, and his fame is spreading further than before. I wish he would slow down, but he seems driven to keep fighting.
I saw another of those strange scripts on my way home this evening. Am I going mad? or is this some strange Isho effect? One learsis did suggest that I might have annoyed someone who was strong in Isho, and certainly the great ramian was strong in Isho.
I still haven't heard from the people I gave the transcriptions to whether the symbols are writing or not and, if so, what they mean.

365 - Very strange. A man arrived at my room and handed me a satchel, telling me I must deliver it to the temple within four days for Hastur. It contains a crystal, a key, a lock of hair and a human heart in a cold Isho box. My neighbour saw the man too, so at least he was definitely real. He wrote one of those symbols that only I can see on the hall floor.
I'm frightenned.

365/2 - I'm at the hospital now. I hope Bardou gets here soon.
Those people can't have been real Citadel Guards, they killed the Ardoth Guard soldiers. Why were they calling me "mistress"?
I'd taken the satchel to try and find the officer we dealt with at the dam. He was out on a patrol, but I spoke to his father, a general. Then the people in guard uniforms burst in and started killing people. They killed the general. I ran and they followed me.
I don't know what to do. What is happening? Was it real? or can I dare to hope that it is all a dream from which I will wake?

365/3 - I hope we're safe now we are in prison. The last few hours have been a continuing nightmare.
It seems I am suspected of killing all those Ardoth Guards.
Citadel guards came to the hospital to arrest me. I ran away and managed to get out into the Citadel where I found Bardou. He called a legate who agreed to approach the Citadel intelligence services to explain that it was all a terrible mistake. We also spoke to some members of the cult who seem to think we are members too. There is some talk of a Dark Mother returning. Apparently the large black ramian is called Hastur and is her son. While we were waiting for the legate, the Shenter we were in was attacked by soldiers with no insignia. I was knocked unconscious by some sort of grenade but Bardou managed to carry me out. He was hit by an energy weapon which broke one of his ribs. We got back to his manager's house where we managed to treat each other's injuries, but then the legate brought the Citadel Guard and an Intelligence Officer to collect us, so here we are, waiting to be questioned.

possibly 366 ? - We left through a warp gate in daylight, but it is now close to dawn here in Glounda. I'm not sure what day it is here.
The Intelligence Officer is also a cult member. He released two ramian prisoners to help him, and killed some guards. Then we were brought out of the prison by boat. The boat met a larger ship, crewed by about a hundred ramian, with Hastur and the thriddle we met before on the mountain on board. The thriddle made a warp gate and we passed through it.
Apparently they plan to find the Dark Mother who was imprisonned by the Shantha in a pyramid. When they find her they intend to perform some sort of ritual so that she can use my body to live in. At present I still have the box with the heart in. Maybe if I destroy it they will be unable to perform the ritual. This place is guarded by crugar as well as by ramians. There are several thriddle, so we have found out some things about their plans, but nothing which is of much comfort, except that there are some troops nearby who are expected to attack soon. Maybe we can escape in the confusion if there is an attack.

367 - I am sitting at Bardou's bedside as I write this, still not certain whether he will live or not.
Yesterday we moved carefully across the huge encampment around the zigurat until we were near to the trees. Nobody seemed to pay attention to us for a long time, but eventually we were missed and had to run as the hunt started. We were lucky to run almost straight in to an army patrol and they shot at the crugar who were following us.
Back at the first aid station there was another escaped captive - Nathaniel Kreed [a woffen yordeh] who had been looking for a young woman who had vanished from Ardoth, possibly bound for the same fate they had planned for me. He had a strange mark on his forehead and could see the marks on myself and Bardou.
While I was helping to treat the wounded Rhouf arrived - apparently he was with the soldiers. There was nobody else around to help rescue the young woman so I went with Rhouf, his patrol, Bardou and Nathaniel to the zigurat. We managed to get quite close before the guards spotted us, and between them the others managed to stop them raising the alarm.
Inside the zigurat it was dark, and the darkness was made worse by strange black isho in the air.
Several ramians attacked our group in the tunnel but in the confusion Nathaniel and I managed to sneak past to the central area where there were a lot of captives, including the young woman he was looking for, near to a platform built over a huge pit, with a black altar on it. A thriddle was guarding the captives. He greeted me as "Mistress", and for once that was useful as it allowed us to get close enough for Nathaniel to attack him while I cut the captives' bonds.
One of the great ramians picked me up using their strange isho, but as Rhouf and the others burst through into the chamber he let me go again and I was able to run for the way out along with the captives, some of whom were confused and had to be shouted at.
Bardou had been terribly hurt in the fight in the tunnel and I was tending to his injuries when shantha arrived and ordered us outside.

367/2 - It was late in the evening before I finally persuaded the muadra leyarsis to fix Bardou's leg. He's limping a bit, but it looks like he will be fine now. The leyarsis is sleeping off the exertion. He had to use a lot of Isho.
The day has been so long. I think there have been two main attacks in the valley below us, judging by the rate at which casualties have been brought up here. I was helping in the main learsis tent when we were attacked by things which Bardou calls Tolegra, big lions, which seem to be Iskian rather than to have evolved into their shape, but I thought all the Iskian races were well known and I have never heard of these Tolegra before. They knocked the learsis tents down by swinging cut logs from the trees and killed some wounded and one of the medics by stabbing through the fallen canvas at anyone who moved. Rhouf and his troops, along with Nathaniel managed to fight them off - two were dead and one seriously wounded - I've patched up the wounded one, but he'll need an operation in a proper hospital before we can be sure he'll live. He'll probably be wanted for interrogation.

Put the Tolegra in the bed next to Bardou, which seems to have cheered Bardou up considerably. There's also the practical consideration that if the Tolegra does get lose then Bardou is the only person in the learsis tent who has the slightest chance of holding him until the troops can come to help us out. There probably isn't anyone they can spare to act as an official guard at the moment, things are so chaotic outside.
Both Rhouf and Nathaniel have taken Tolegra swords as trophies.
The young woman Nathaniel rescued has been complaining about everything - the facilities, the smells and everything about the place. She doesn't seem to realise that she's lucky to be alive. I gave her a sleeping draught, so the learsis tent is quiet again now.

369 - We have been told to keep everything that happened here a secret from everyone. Technically I'm still wanted for murder in Ardoth, but they tell me that will be sorted out before we go back.
We operated on the Tolegra today, and the surgeon is reasonably happy with the results. I'm keeping the Tolegra under sedation for a while, because I suspect the military are very keen to interview him and they may not understand how fragile his health is at the moment. Some of the other Tolegra prisonners killed themselves when they woke up so this one must be watched carefully.

374 - Today we return to Ardoth. I hope that the murder really has been sorted out. The poor general. He seemed like a decent man, what little I saw of him.
I have a new job in the Darsage's service. Rhouf has had his new rank as Scout Leader confirmed and received a commendation, and we have all been given money and five Drenn points as a reward.

377 - I don't need to cry about these people. I shouldn't be crying. If their friendship was so shallow that they'll drop me because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time then they were never real friends at all.
It isn't fair.
I'm glad Bardou is coming over later, I don't want to sit here alone tonight. I'm sure he'll cheer me up. His new restaurant has been going well, so he's always in a cheerful mood these days.




380 - The Tolegra, Hausteng, is here at the Darsage's research facility. He seems to be fully recovered. He has learned a few words of Entren and I've been able to talk to him. He asked about missile weapons, and didn't seem to like them much, which is not surprising since he was nearly killed by one. He tells me that the wooden pegs they carry represent members of their Pride.
The work I have been given is interesting. It looks like a long term project, and I will enjoy the opportunity to see it through from beginning to end.

391 - I have been invited to a dinner party at an estate outside of Ardoth. I must get my formal robes cleaned today. Bardou, Rhouf and Nathaniel are invited too, and, more surprisingly, so has Hausteng. I asked if he wanted me to fetch him anything to wear for the event, but he seemed to think that what he needed would be provided for him through official channels.

392 - Tonight is the party. Bardou, Rhouf, Nathaniel and I are sharing a horse drawn coach there. I've never ridden in one before. I've seen horses before, but never been close to one. I wonder what they're like. Since they always run on four legs there must be some significant structural differences between them and the Iskian races.
I rather share Nathaniel's suspicion that our invitation means that they want something more from us. Whether it is to do with the Greater Ramian or with the Tolegra I don't know.

393 - [draft copy of a letter to Sasha's parents]
Dear Mother and Father,
I hope you are in good health and that the family continues to prosper.
Since my last letter two weeks ago many new things have happened. The best being that I now have Drennship. I am so sorry that you couldn't have been here to see it. It was a shock to me. I never expected to meet the Darsage, let alone be awarded my Drennship so suddenly. I have been granted land in Tibardi, but I won't be taking it up until next year.
I am not sure when I will be able to come home so we can celebrate properly. I have been asked to be an ambasador in the land of the Tolegra for a year - which seems to be the reason why Drennship was given to me so suddenly.
Events are moving at a fast pace and there is talk of us taking a ship in a few days, so I will not have time to do more than pack up my things and get ready for the journey.
Enclosed is a copy of Mr Snow's autograph for Tolli, as you asked for in your last letter. Also I send you these embroidered cloths which I got in the market at the Citadel this week and a box of sweets.
I hope to be home next year. I expect there will be many new and interesting things in the land of the Tolegra that I can tell you about.
I am not sure how the postal system will work, so do not be alarmed if you don't hear from me as regularly as usual.
Sasha


It looks like Nathaniel's fears were justified. We are being sent to the Tolegra lands to act as emmissaries. I'm not sure exactly what we will do there. I hope we don't cause more problems between the Tolegra and the humans - their customs are so strange to us, and they are deeply religious, and therefore easily offended. There were forty Tolegra at the party, as well as huge numbers of guests of high ranks. It was less a dinner party than a ball.
Rhouf got on well with the Tolegra. Getting drunk and talking about fighting seems to be an acceptable way of interacting with them. We were each given what they call a Pride Brother (or Pride Sister, I suppose, since Bardou's is a female). Mine is called Braumeng. I had trouble pronouncing his name, but then he had trouble pronouncing mine, so we were both laughed at by his comrades. I hope he realises that humans aren't as robust as Bronth or Woffen, a friendly pat from him could knock me out if he were to try it.
Only Hausteng among the Tolegra speaks any Entren and we, of course, don't speak their language. It seems that we will have four months of travelling in which to learn it though.
We were all given Drennship by the Darsage himself. Nathaniel doesn't seem sure what to do with his as he wasn't a Tauther to begin with. He seems worried about how he will make his living now he is too well known to be a yorgeh anymore.

397 - I have an Earth-tech medical scanner to use on our expedition. Fascinating piece of equipment with lots of possibilities. Normal bureaucracy would have taken a long time with all the paperwork but our kauji, Alis, was able to help with that given the urgency of the situation. We sail in two days.
I have bought some more formal robes and jewelery, as we are supposed to be ambassadors of a sort and it would not do to be too dowdy. I also bought spare clothing for all sorts of weather conditions. Bardou has spent a lot of time shopping over the last few days, although I suspect his purchases are rather more fashionable and less practical than mine.
Rhouff and Nathaniel seem to be acquiring some Earth-tech as well, although I don't know what sort of things and I suspect it wouldn't be a good idea to ask.

399 - We were due to leave today, but there seems to have been some political problems with nations asking for compensation for the Tolegra attacks on them.

402 - Finally we are on our way.
I am the ship's only learsis. There were some problems earlier today with several of the crew claiming to be sick. One of them genuinely was, but the others seemed to be malingering. I spoke to the Captain and he sent Bardou to talk to them. I don't know what Bardou said, but it seemed to be effective.
I'm not sure I like the Captain. I don't like being leered at, especially when he was obviously just doing it to impress his officers.
The sick sailor has food poisoning and will be fine in a couple of days. Crew quarters appear to be basic, but clean, so there shouldn't be too much risk of infections spreading. General standards of hygeine onboard are acceptable.
The Captain seems to like Bardou. Apparently he won some bets on some of his fights.

403 - Nathaniel tells me that the Captain is suspected of involvement with a group opposed to this mission to the Tolegra. It seems that all Ardoth is not united in wishing us success in our work, after all. This is not really a surprise to me, nothing is ever simple these days. I wish I could just practice medicine and avoid these political situations, but I suppose I have no choice, I'm already involved, whether I choose it or not.
The crewman with food poisoning is improving steadily. He should be able to return to his duties the day after tomorrow.

405 - I know women are in a minority on this voyage, but this is ridiculous! I have put up with several subtle enquiries as to my availability, but to have some young officer today have the cheek to suggest that I meet him tonight is outrageous! Has he got no manners? I am a Learsis, not a courtesan!
I have told Bardou that the young officer will be waiting alone in the hold tonight. That should discourage any more advances.
One case of scalding from spilled soup in the mess today. I have finished a full inventory of the ship's medical equipment and supplies so I now know exactly where everything is, which will make my job easier.

409 - That man is a monster. There is no other word for him.
A crew member was accused of stealing some Earth-tech from a passenger, and the Captain sentenced him to seventy lashes. Seventy!!! How could he? That's not a punishment, it's murder!
The man was barely alive when he was brought to me and then that monster of a Captain said he should be put into a boat to be moved to The Iskian (the other ship) for treatment. I asked Bardou to tell the Captain that our ship must slow down so we could meet The Iskian and have the chief learsis come over here to treat him. He had internal bleeding and other serious injuries. Bardou had an argument with the Captain and eventually persuaded him to slow the ship. Unfortunately we failed to save the crewman and he was buried in the water an hour ago. I am so angry I can barely speak to anyone.

419 - Not surprisingly, given the general standards of conduct on this vessel, it seems one of the crew is pregnant. She says the father is one of the young officers, but I doubt it as she is at least seven weeks pregnant and we have only been at sea for two weeks. She wants to carry on with the pregnancy and seems to be thinking that the young man might marry her. I warned her that it would be silly to lie about the situation as she would only be found out in the end.
I asked Nathaniel to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't meet with any unfortunate accidents after the young man is told of her condition.
Other than that a routine day, checked the eye infection again and the treatment has been effective. Stitched up another cut from a practice fight - it looks like it will heal cleanly.

420 - The young man who is almost certainly not the father of the child was here today asking me about the situation.
Difficult to know what to say to him as I have my patient's confidentiality to respect. I told him it was impossible to say who the father of a child was at least until after it was born, I think he knows that it is unlikely to be his. He'll probably pay the young woman's fare home just to keep her quiet.
Two more cases of rope burns among the crew, and a broken toe from a marine who missed a kick during a practice fight and hit a beam by mistake.

425 - Did a final check on the pregnant woman and gave her some limilates for her sickness. She's perfectly fit for the journey back to Ardoth. Took the bandages off the rope burns cases and they look all right, although one has a slight area of broken skin which will need continued treatment.
We docked in Tlon in Dobre after curfew. We are to stay on the ship tonight and go ashore tomorrow after The Iskian arrives.

425/2 - Bardou has been arrested. The Bronth say he is wanted for murder here.
For some reason he decided to leave the ship late tonight to visit his family. I don't know why he couldn't have waited until morning. There was a commotion on the dockside and I came out to see that he was fighting with several local guards. I kept shouting and arguing with them but they wouldn't let him go, although eventually they did tell me where they were taking him - apparently his family will keep him in custody until his trial.
Rhouff and Nathaniel think the Bronth legal system is fair but slow.
I don't know what we can do.

426 - This has been a very long and frightenning day, the only good part was seeing Braumeng again briefly before the parade.
Hassan spent all day up in the crows nest on the ship and is still refusing to come down while we're in port.
Nathaniel, Rhouff and I went to see Bardou. It turns out his captivity is largely on an honour system. He is expected to remain within his family home, but noone seems to be keeping a close watch on him or locking any doors. This makes the way the guards behaved last night even more inexplicable - why such a brutal capture just to take him into a place he intended to go to anyway, and from which he could walk away at any time?
I suppose the Bronth have a generally very religious outlook on life, and maybe they find it difficult to be tolerant of such an openly unconventional person as Bardou. His lifestyle is barely tolerated in Ardoth, after all.
To make things even more confusing it appears that the murder he is charged with was actually committed by his brother, but Bardou has some responsibility for his brother under Bronth law.
I spoke to the Ambassador from Ardoth at the reception tonight and asked if he could help to get Bardou permission to leave his family's house. If that doesn't work we have a plan to dye his fur and dress him in borrowed clothes to conceal his scent so he can get back to the ship tomorrow before we sail. I hate to think what the diplomatic consequences of him escaping will be, but what else can we do? There's no time. The ship sails tomorrow.
The parade and the reception which followed it have caused further problems. It seems that the Tolegra see themselves as the spiritual leaders of the Iskian races, whereas the Bronth see that as their role, and with considerably more justification since they have been part of the culture of the others for all this time while the Tolegra have been lost from us.
For a while I was afraid that there was going to be a fight actually within the council meeting area. The Bronth responded to the Tolegra with quite aggressive language, talking of "enslavement", and demanding that the Tolegra leave Dobre almost immediately. It seems unlike the Bronth to be so easily provoked.
There was also an argument between the Burdothian Admiral and one of the Dobre military too. Our Admiral, I regret to say, called the Bronth a "walking rug".
There was a big fight along the docks as well. It seems that someone hired mercenaries to attack the Tolegra. Rhouff and I got back to the ship safely. Nathaniel (who was away from the ship on a mission for the First Officer) got trampled by a Bronth shield charge. He wasn't very grateful when I came to fix his injuries.
A Tolegra cauji cast a spell of black mist all over the fight and the rest of the Tolegra got back to their ship in the confusion. Our cauji doesn't know exactly what the spell was. I hope it's not more of the black isho.
Whatever else is going on here, there's not much diplomacy. Everyone seems ready to take offence at everything and nobody seems willing to discuss our differences calmly.
We leave in the next two days. This makes things far more complicated for getting Bardou away from his captivity. I hope he's okay. He must be worried about everything that has happened.

426/2
Bardou has been released and is back on the ship. He has been banished from Dobre for life, which upsets him somewhat, but as Rhouff pointed out, his lifestyle would hardly be accepted here anyway so his plan to retire here would have ended in unhappiness anyway. I'm so glad he's safely back with us.
Nathaniel was given the job of interrogating two of the captured mercenaries. I allowed him to take them as the alternative was handing them over to that brute of a captain. I hate the necessity for this. I mend their hurts, only for Nathaniel to inflict more hurts on them for me to mend again. I drugged the second one so he cracked quicker under interrogation. I hope that means his injuries were less than they would have been otherwise.
I hate the fighting between humans, Bronth and Tolegra, too. We should all be allies together, instead of making work for the Learsis by breaking each other's bodies because we can't take the time to sit still and talk things through.

[draft copy of a letter to Sasha's parents]
Dear Mother and Father,
I hope you and all the family are safe and well.
By now you may have heard of the misfortune the befell us in Dobre when the Tolegra revealed their aims of usurping the Broth leadership of the Iskian races. I write this to reassure you that I was safely back on the ship when the main part of the fighting took place, and I was not hurt in any way.
Sadly I spent many days afterwards tending to those who had been injured in that terrible misunderstanding, and several lives were lost.
I hope that somehow we can still get peace and unity between all the races of Iskin and the humans, but at the moment that hope looks slender enough.
Sasha



428
I still feel sick and light-headed from losing so much blood. If only there weren't so much to do. I shouldn't be operating on people when I'm this woozy, but if I don't do it noone else can. There are so many injured, so many dying. So much to do...

I've checked and checked, and I can't see what I did wrong. What went wrong with the dose of drugs I gave to that slaver woman? Maybe people from her land react differently to people from Burdoth? I need to find out before I can do anything else.
Instead of being more talkative, which was the effect I intended, the woman went crazy and attacked Nathaniel when he went to speak to her.
He was really badly hurt. I think she threw a table at him. Maybe I should add a sedative next time? Or maybe I should never have tried to do this at all. Maybe I was just wrong to get involved in the first place.
I tried to make the interrogations easier, so that the prisonners got hurt less, but she's dead now, and that's my fault too. Nathaniel killed her... or at any rate helped her to kill herself. She had had some poison in a powder box. He'd taken it off her earlier, but after she attacked him he threw it back and she snatched it up and took it before the guard could stop her. I rushed over as quickly as I could but **** poisoning is untreatable. I got a small dose of it myself by accident while trying to help her, but my orderly has cauterised my nose to stop it bleeding. It hurts, and the smell is terrible.
I told Nathaniel that I'd say it was an accident. That I'd hurt him while I was treating his injuries and that he flinched and dropped the box by mistake. Rhouff had the body disposed of over the side of the ship along with all the others, and I think the powder box went over too.
What have I done?

We found the remains of a battle between Ramians and humans after we left Dobre. There were about seventy injured in the water or clinging to wreckage. One of the ramians seems to have been some sort of medical orderly, so I left him under guard with a supply of limilates so that he can treat his own people. He probably knows how better than I do. If I have time later I'll see if I can speak to him and get some advice.
As to the humans, we have had the terrible job of deciding who we have the best chance of saving. I asked the caujiis to look at the ones I thought were beyond my help, but the Isho here is weak. They saved a few, but not many. We lost twenty in all, and there are still some who might succumb to infection if they are unlucky.

Once all the critical cases were dealt with I was called over to a slaver ship which had also somehow got involved in the battle. It was sinking slowly, but Rhouff (who was in charge of the boarding party) got the freed slaves organised to start fixing it up so that it could be limped in to port. I got anyone who was not involved in repairs to help with cooking and cleaning to treat the wounded on board the ship. The slaves had been starved and left with their injuries and illnesses un-treated. Five of them will have to have limbs amputated as a result. The rest will be a lot better for some food and some vitamins. Barradas has been helping me in the infirmary.
That woman was a monster. Not that that makes my part in her death any easier to bear, but I suppose noone here will mourn her except her two sons.
From what Rhouff and Nathaniel said it seems that the slaver was headed for the Ramian lands with about 200 slaves on board.
There was some terrible misunderstanding when they freed the slaves and a corastin attacked them, so they had to kill him to save themselves. Poor creature, to lose his life so close to freedom. The other slaves realised more quickly that we were from Burdoth, so they did not attack Rhouff's troops.

I'm told that a storm is coming. We're trying to persuade the Bronth to allow us to tow the ship up to their coast to ride it out. The way things have been lately it seems that negotiations will not be easy.

428/2
The Bronth have taken all the slaves and the ramians back to Dobre. The slaves should be safe there for now, although how they will get home from there is not certain. I spoke to the Bronth Learsis so he knows who has what injuries and illnesses and what treatment they have had so far.
I fear that the treatment the ramians have received from us has been in vain though, the Iskian races have no love for them.

Nathaniel is still very weak, but he is sleeping peacefully. I hope he sleeps through the storm.

428/3
We seem to have gone through a warp gate during the storm. I'm not sure where we are, but it's in the middle of a desert somewhere, with the ship lying on the sand and no coast to be seen even from the top of the mast. There are animals and birds here though, so there must be water.
We prepared as well as we could for the storm, getting everything secured and tying the patients into their bunks. The isho made me sick, but not as badly as some of the others. I had to give ****** to four of the Cauji.
Rhouff was affected very badly. It needed Barradas and two marines to hold him down while I administered ******, unfortunately he then had a reaction to that and I needed to give him a sedative, but Barradas misunderstood me and hit him to knock him out instead. I finally got the sedative into him and I think he'll be fine now, apart from cuts and bruises.

The Isho levels got worse and worse and then the real storm hit us. Some of the cauji were injured by a mast falling on the deck and Barradas went out to rescue them. Two of them will live.
I don't know what happened in the end. All I can recall is a bright white light, and then I woke up here, stuck in one corner of the room with all the bits of equipment that weren't well enough secured. Five people are missing - the captain, the bursar, one of the Iskians and two cauji. One set of footprints in the sand leads away to the East.
We moved the patients and the medical equipment outside under a canvas awning, since the ship is sitting at an angle which makes working inside it difficult. It's terribly hot, but we have supplies for a reasonably long time and I'm sure we'll find water soon.
There isn't enough Isho for the caujis to treat Nathaniel's face yet. I told the first officer it should be done as a priority because we need his ability to smell in order to help us find water in the desert.
Had a long talk with Nathaniel. There's something in his past that he's hiding, something that makes him angry and untrusting and vengeful. I worry about him.

429
It is terribly cold in the desert at night.
Barradas and I were sent out at dusk with a patrol that Rhouff is leading. We went in the direction that the footsteps had taken and we have come to a village of sorts. There is something odd about it, so we have sent the two commandos back to alert the rest of the ships' personnel. Rhouff, Barradas, myself and the Iskian naturalist have stayed to keep watch.
Rhouff says that the villagers smell mostly human but that there is something about them that isn't normal.
The stars were moving as we travelled, so maybe we are on a Skyrealm.

430
Since all the villagers here are human I will be going down to talk to them myself. I'll take two of the troopers with me. We'll walk round the village and approach from the open desert, not across the fields.

430/2
I don't know what we can do. The captain says the Iskian is a murderer, but can we believe him when it's his dagger that is covered in blood?
We made contact with the villagers. They speak a strange ancient dialect of Entren which they call "English". They claim to be directly from Earth, original survivors of the Shanthic Wars who have spent most of the last 3000 years frozen in a deep sleep waiting for rescue.
They had captured the captain and the Iskian who were stealing food in their fields, and like a fool I asked for them to be released. If only I'd known what they'd done.

The captain says they got into a scuffle with a child in the fields, the child bit the Iskian and the Iskian grabbed the captain's dagger and stabbed the child.
He killed a little child, for nothing more than a bite on the arm which will heal in a few days. The captain isn't the only monster here.

Anyway, before we knew of this crime we'd arranged to meet the villagers in the morning by the lake, so we are camped there, waiting to talk to them and hoping they don't kill us all out of hand for what has been done.
They have a terrible prejudice against Iskin too, and against the Iskian races, which isn't going to help matters at all.
All we can do is wait to see what happens.

431
The villagers overheard our conversations last night on a speaking device they gave me, so they knew everything. They shot the Iskian. I don't blame them, although maybe a trial would have been fairer.
I spoke to the delegation they sent and one of their Iskians - scientists, they call them - (called Jonathan) to talk to Barradas and Nathaniel. He seemed a bit prejudiced, but was trying to be polite to them mostly, until the end when he called them 'circus freaks'. He took some genetic samples from all of us and compared them to his. Barradas and Nathaniel are now concerned that these might be used to make a weapon for use against their people.
After he was rude and I sent him away another politer scientist came to talk to us. He was still with us when a big metal thing, sent to kill us by the villagers, came crashing through the trees.
They don't seem to like the Iskian races and they don't seem to like the idea that humans on Jorune have evolved and made peace with the Shantha.
They said that most of their people are in frozen sleep just now, which might mean that there are thousands of them that could potentially be woken up and set against us.




extracts from Rhouf Howerll's diary

273 - This journey is tedious. The Corastin are so slow, yet I dare not berate them. At least we are out of that damned forest (Ha- from Damned to dam!) but why they need a scout to repair a dam I don't know. I'll go mad if I end up escorting more of these convoys. The forest might be dangerous, but at least it's interesting. I wonder if there's a shenter set up yet?
Arrived at base camp for the dam repair at last. Apparently the dam if further up the valley. Lots of sickness, smells bad. At least I could bathe in the river and get the dust of the journey out of my fur. And I'm not responsible for the Corastin anymore. But there's nowhere to get a drink. And far too many people about. But finally I can have a rest.

Famous last words. Some Learsis needs a skilled escort to go to the aid of a pregnant female human. A proper job at last, and an important one. I've to draw some food & leave at once.

274 - What have I got into now? The Learsis, Sasha, seems like she's worn out before we started and collapsed before we went any distance. Our guide is incapable of communicating any meaningful information about where we're going, just that it's up the next valley along from the Dam, and is spending all his time gathering shirm-eh. What he needs that for is a mystery. For protection I've been stuck with some flamboyant Bronth Sherja, Mr. Snow, who seems handy enough if completely out of place in the wilderness - you should have seen what he thought was essential equipment for a fast-moving emergency mission - and a bloody Crugar. At least the Bronth will keep an eye on him, and kill him if he tries anything. I'll have to sleep with one ear pricked, though. I won't have to smell him all the time since I'll be scouting ahead. Once the Learsis has recovered we've got to get on. The cliff ahead will be a stiff climb.
I don't believe it. Another bloody Crugar. Met a Dharsage Talmaron patrol with a Crugar assassin along. Our crugar seems to hate this one. First sensible thing he's done. They've got a Ramian captive. Gave us food, too. (Durlig! My favourite!) Our guide nearly got himself killed by the patrol after he provoked the crugar. The ramian tried to get away in the confusion but of course I ran him down. The leader of the patrol gave me a token to get help from the military if I need it. That could be handy. We should get to our destination late tonight.

275 - I wish I understood what's going on. Arrived at the house, found a Thivin and a Thriddle hiding watching the house. When I asked them what they were hiding from they drew weapons on me! Unheard of! Then three Ramian and a couple of Cleash appeared. The Cleash seemed to be in charge and the others were calling one of them master! An inexplicable group, why aren't they destroying each other? It seems we were lured here (or at least, Sasha was) so presumably they've got a sick person somewhere. Probably another Ramian judging by the amount of shirm-eh our guide collected. His family is held hostage to force his co-operation, so it's hard to hate him. Mr. Snow got himself shot trying to negotiate with these Cleash. He's in a pretty bad way but Sasha's patched him up. She's got some gawdieth which I've taken. Mr. Snow reckons it's only a few miles to the Dam, if the ridge between the two valleys is climbable. With the limilate I should be able to outrun this lot & get word to the authorities of this incursion. I'd better go now, before they move us to their camp further up the mountain. The crugar will run too. They'll catch him before they catch me so it gives me a better chance of getting clean away.
Made it! Amazingly, the Crugar made it too. But I beat him! The young human woman escaped at the same time, so they were too confused to chase us properly. After a number of arguments I managed to persuade the stupid soldiers to let me speak to someone in charge. A Boccord, he realised how serious it was & got a Talmaron patrol together quickly to investigate. We were well fed (Durlig! My favourite!) and I got some stomeh. They must be good if only four of them plus me (and the Crugar) are considered enough to take on two Cleash & three Ramian, plus the Thivin. They gave me a nice new crossbow and a really good sword to replace the weapons I lost. I also got a knife with all sorts of useful tools hidden in the handle and a strange spinning disk thing on the end. Then we took off on the Talmarons to rescue our friends.
When we got to the house everyone had gone, except the old human female who was dead. These scum seem to kill without thought. Someone had used some heavy Isho, probably the Thriddle Caji. Our Muadra thinks that they must have warped off somewhere. It'll need more troops to search the mountain properly. Meanwhile I'm to help in the search for the young woman who fled when we escaped. She's local and was with them for a while so she might have a better idea where they are.