Osfrid the Unfinished, Journeyman Research Librarian
Sigbert of Bitterstone is undoubtedly this century's most well know travel author. While his writings are now somewhat dated, they are still quite useful for the traveler to the outlying regions of the Empire. It was great luck that I found a case of his unpublished notebooks in an alcove behind the Arcane Mathematics stacks mixed in a case of beginners' alchemy textbooks. Although a scholar seldom trust to luck I thank Lady Providence for this timely find. Below you will find Master's Work, may this offering be well received by my fellow scholars and students of the Imperial Library.
Spanning the first 5 years of Sigbert's work these notebooks are quite different from his later volumes. Long though lost these journals show a less refined but fresher view of the world around him then those works from his later life. The often-humorous later works have their root in these early writings. With jokes and cartoons in the notebook margins. Though less mature it is startling how the author maintains his lighthearted spirit in dire circumstances and dangerous situations.
Some of Sigbert's latter work has recently been brought into question. Critics have claimed they are full of errors, fabrications, and sometimes outright lies. Many have come to believe that this is due to pressures from editors. With the strong competition in this niche market there is a strong incentive to stand out from the crowd. After an intense study of these found works I would like to offer a different conclusion. His works may have been in fact toned down for political reasons! As you shall see in the translated works below Sigbert was involved in a deadly conspiracy that threatened not only his own life but also the very existence of the Empire itself.
The thirty-seven notebooks were in various states of disrepair. Only after extensive conservation work were they made legible. Still there are missing pages, crossed out lines and unexplained gaps in the text. Whether these gaps are due to Sigbert's lack of interest in the surrounding land he was then traveling through or they are in some as yet undiscovered journal remains to be seen.
The journals have been arranged as much as possible in chronological order. The first several pages of the first notebook have been lost. I have little doubt they were not much different then the later notebooks first pages and merely contain dates, address, and lists of expenditures
It is thus we begin.
We will find that Sigbert had a great dislike of traveling by any type of watercraft, thus his ill humor and criticism whenever he was forced by circumstance to do so. – Osfrid the Unfinished
…much like the other day. Captain Herzog claims we will see the city by tomorrow at noon. Though I would question their knowledge on many other things, I have learned to take these river captains at their word on matters of seamanship.
Let me explain some about the river captains. Although the vessels on the upper Blue River are flat bottomed, and have the greatest difficulty moving anywhere but with the current, the proud crews do call them boats. Thus a boat must have a captain. While I personally consider this outrageous. I am at the mercy of the crew while being conveyed on this vessel. Thus I give Captain Herzog the courtesy of his title. If you do not want all your meals burnt and find sand in your bed you would do well to follow my example and do the same.
If you choose to travel on one of the many navigable rivers here in the Western Province by all means seek out one of the boats of House Crushing Foam. While more well known for their sea going merchant ships they do maintain a number of boats on the Silver, Blue, and Lesser Blackburn Rivers.
At this point there are water stains thathave made several paragraphs unreadable. -- Osfrid the Unfinished
The view of Ravensmount from the north and south is much the same. The city sits high on a steep plateau. Long manmade ramps lead up to both the north and south gates. Tall towers and strong walls flank these gates. As we approached Ravensmount from the north on the river I could see the line of carts and riders making their way up these ramps.
The heavy cargo wagons of the plains transfer their cargo to carts that can negotiate these ramps with their switchbacks. Occasionally extremely heavy goods require a double team of oxen to pull a cart up the ramp. When this takes place traffic is backed up while the teams and drovers struggle with the load. This commerce has caused two towns to spring up on the plains below the walls devoted to the drovers and their animals. The inns here are rough in structure and character. If one chooses to stay outside the city walls, I recommend the Gilded Wheel tavern in South Town. Be sure to ask for a private room and do try the rye ale.
A few words about Ravensmount's famous gates, if a structure can be said to be proud these gates are deficiently that. One gets the impression that these walls with there massive bronze doors could stand any assault. In fact I am told they have done just that several times, most recently during the Beast Wars when Ravensmount's walls were never breached. On pedestals flanking both of the gates, are the famous Warrior Guardians. These twenty-foot bronze statues are not the originals. During the three-month siege of the Beast War the invader's engines destroyed them. So important were these effigies to the city's pride that they were recast from the original molds.
This trip I entered the city by way of the Riverside gate. Unless you have an overwhelming interest in warehouses and fish markets it is best to move quickly through Riverside and into the city itself. Despite the care taken by the Watch, Riverside is home to unsavory sorts such as pickpockets and halflings. The way up the side of the plateau is by a series of ramps and steps. Take care of the porters with packages balanced on their heads and the fish scales on the steps. For those that lack the fortitude to walk the steps, there is a chain-hoisted cage that can lift one up the side of the plateau to the wall above. Despite the locals' claim that no one has ever come to injury from this lift, I much prefer the walk up the steps then trust my life to a gnome built contraption. If you have an injured leg but a strong heart you are welcome to make use of the lift for a mere two pennies.
Although there is no collaborating evidence I believe that this Lift is one of the works of the Mad Gnome Gimorwillhis. -- Osfrid the Unfinished
The battle of Dead Plains is not far outside the walls of Ravensmount. It marks the farthest east that the invading army ever reached. Just south of the city on the main road is a marker of the event. Were the combined armies of the Empire, Dwarves, and Elves defeated the Necromancer and his minions.
In the back of the notebook were several loose papers. One of which was a charcoal rubbing like those made by placing paper on a tombstone and lightly tracing. This I have done many times myself down in the library crypts. I have a collection from all the Senior Librarians tombs for the past two hundred years. On the back of this rubbing was this inscription.
Near this site the combined armies of the Empire, Noble Houses and dwarves destroyed the army of the Beast Lords. Many brave warriors, wizards, and dwarves gave their lives to save the Western Empire from the invading Horde. Each side is written in a different language, Dwarven, common, Compolie, and Elfvish.
This is in a flowing script other then the author. Who wrote it we might never know. Perhaps one of the authors unnamed companions. I have been able to confirm though Master Winfred, who has done a study of the monuments of the West, that the writing is in fact a copy of the monument dedicated to the last battle of the Beast War, which the author mentions in the above passage. Note that Sigbert mistakenly mentions elves being in the battle. Perhaps this is due to the elvish script on the mounument-- Osfrid the Unfinished