Excerpt from the writings of Ranath

Nymie Valley, 1618, Sea season, Fireday in Fertility Week

I had been on the road with those barbarians for two days and every heartbeat they became harder to endure. Ignorant they were, of the ilk that would light their campfire with a tome written by Dilfar the Deepsighted himself without a second thought. Oh, if it was merely ignorance, one of them showed the sure signs of a kleptomaniac, time and time again demonstrating pathetic attempts to pilfer some of the goods of a Lunar high dignitary, right under the man's nose! Obviously oblivious to the fact that all of Sartar would be answerable for any missing goods as they were tribute to the Empire. Needless to say I was unable to seize this great opportunity to learn more from the Pelorian, but he did give me a small model of a temple in Peloria, obviously thinking it worthless, but I have already started copying the layouts of the architecture to my books. Perhaps I will be able to piece something together when I return to the library at Jonstown … but I digress. We were resting by a small well when one of the barbarians jumped up shouting “shadowcat!”. Delighted at the foresight to be able to study one of these graceful creatures I ran to the small stream in the direction he was pointing. The barbarian rushed into the water like a madman, losing his footing, momentarily distracted by his strange behavior I almost failed to notice the nightmarish storm of teeth and claws that flew at me. This was not a shadowcat! In a haze I noticed the dagger-like fangs of a fullgrown sabretooth tiger. I was just able to evade its powerful claws, but was unable to withstand the full impact of its mighty body. Before I could regain my breath I was being mauled by the ferocious animal. I can't recollect much of what went on after that, but apparently my crude companions were able to drive off the wild monster. To my surprise they were decent enough to stop the bleeding of my grievous wounds and carry me to the village where they left me in the good hands of the local priest. Unfortunately they seemed to have succeeded in losing my purse containing twelve hundred silver coins! I was saving these to fund my expedition to Pavis later this year … now I had lost both my money and had to pay back the temple with three weeks of teaching village children the difference between the rune for law and the rune for beast! … Well, I guess it could have ended worse. At least I was able to do some research in the small collection of the temple. And the barbarians will soon leave again as well, I feel Lankhor Mhy has called me to follow them, I sense there's much to learn where their path will take them, it may even be worth enduring their stench and foul manners.