Interlude: Diar...Journal of Edwin Odesseiron, nephew to Tharchion Homen Odesseiron of Thay and Red Wizard: 7 - 18 Kythorn, 3472 Mulhorand Calendar
I know it was wrong to sneak it out of his pack and read it. My spoken Mulhorandi is terrible, he's been absolutely right about that, but I remember my written Mulhorandi quite well, and he doesn't know that. So I looked at Edwin's journal and wanted to find out his and Thay's plans...and found them, to a certain extent. I tried to skip over the bits that weren't about his mission, and I'm pretty sure that would be physically impossible anyway even with demon concubines, not that I got enough time with Eldoth to try much of anything.
—
7 Kythorn, Painfully Early (circa. Hour 10)
Following yesterday's glorious battle (I think I shall include it in my memoirs sans humiliating aftermath): I declare, the witch has most assuredly found allies. She has attached herself to a seemingly bedraggled group, no doubt from one ulterior motive or another; I must conclude they form part of Rashemen's goals, and will follow they and her until the convenient moment when I shall destroy her in a blinding haze of superior magery.
Descriptions follow. A hulking thing native to Rashemen calling itself a man and the future small rug that keeps it for a pet. An ill-tempered and unnecessarily belligerent cleric. A childish and babbling bard I anticipate may see to my personal needs. A craven elf and a rather devastatingly attractive necromancer. A pink-clad stray with some minor level of talent in the magical arts...and a crying little thief who has stained my robes. She seems easily manipulated and I shall order her to launder my clothing in repayment, though the pink stray has suggested her general incompetence.
I shall interrogate them after breakfasting. (These barbaric hours!) If this line of inquiry proves futile to discern Rashemen's goals, my brilliance will surely find another.
—
7 Kythorn, Still Painfully Early (circa. Hour 12)
Deceived! Tricked out of my mage's words! Doomed to remain with these strays whilst the witch in fact pursues her true goals!
I was sufficiently prudent that it is a mere month. Surely the witch's inferior talents leaves me plenty of time to catch up to her at some later date. The new lackeys shall not serve me ill during this period; I am sure my magical gifts already awe them.
Grossly betrayed by the attractive necromancer in a manner I do not wish to contemplate.
—
8 Kythorn
Condemned to the hole of Beregost for indefinite period. The crying little thief's family appear to have rejected her—somewhere between sixteen and twenty years too late, I should think. The tedium starts to overcome me. Why do I suffer these fools? Oh, yes, breaking a magical promise allegedly leads to negative effects, I daresay some of my more foolish tutors babbled about it. I shall not tolerate this nonsense!
—
12 Kythorn
We have met a monster and invited her to join our party. Tall, brutish, short-tempered, red of pelt. I triumphantly defeated her in single combat through superior wit and martial skill (if the world were just, the babbling bard would attempt to pen a song in my glory, but I have never cared for such insipid music, must not encourage his puerile strumming in any way whatsoever). I was hoping we could use her for the purpose of flinging her in the way of passing beasts whilst fleeing, there being more of her to consume than the crying little thief, but she has become a shameless dictator. She comprehends and abuses my allegiances to my Weave-bound words.
—
13 Kythorn
Enjoyed moderately intelligent conversation with our crying little thief. (Who refrained from crying at the time, for which I am grateful for the sake of my robes.) While no intellectual peer to myself, she has made some desultory study of Thayvian history and even revealed vague comprehension when I uttered a Mulhorandi proverb, perhaps attempting to hide her meagre light out of ladylike modesty. Naturally I corrected her in many important points in the saga of Thay's greatness and gave her the correct pronunciation of, 'Greetings noble wizard I abase myself before you', the traditional Thayvian salutation. I trust she held me in greater esteem than a mere escape from our terrifying shrew of a leader's attempt at tutoring her.
—
14 Kythorn
Fortunately managed to run into Denak and successfully deceived him that I had received his instructions and was following them to the very letter (probably sent to the inn behind us). Received unwitting service from the bard as testimony to said instructions: my quick thinking determined him to be of approximately the correct age and male like the ancestor, therefore close enough to what my supervisors seek that I convinced Denak he was the child and I was travelling with him in order to persuade him to Thay. Naturally my intelligence will discern the true one and then I shall bring him back to Thay whether by verbal convincing, magical force, or otherwise. They will then be so delighted by this they will question no physical or mental metamorphoses from the idiotic bard they briefly glimpsed (and perhaps immediately raise me to zulkir or at the very least graduated from apprenticeship).
Auntie Lasala was accompanying Denak and unfortunately that simian giggling pair interrogated her and viewed Those Pictures. I am prepared to tolerate their insubordination only so far and no further.
Was the witch sent on a similar quest to mine? Well, the madman the crying thief informed me of is clearly not the one. The Rashemi may boast of her useless skills at divination but what is really needed is a keen observational eye such as mine. I shall complete this and return to Thay a hero, in time.
—
18 Kythorn
Joined a mess of uncultured bandit chimps. Oh joy of all joys. Will take further notes once the subnormal children and The She-Brute Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned see fit to vacate this barbaric location. It is at least the source of some power, in this region, though I seek another entirely...
—
That's where all that could be relevant ends.
Other than Dynaheir out of the way, the Thayvians want the child of...some important man. Someone around Garrick's age and male—or only probably male? Most men don't only have male children. Men and women, let's say between fifteen and twenty-five since Garrick's twenty—that's only a somewhat large proportion of the Sword Coast. The implication seems to be that the child should have inherited powers, but...
So Edwin is obviously looking for Elminster's secret son-or-daughter! Actually, that's a completely unsupported hypothesis. I might as well say, Edwin is looking for Gorion's secret child, Edwin is looking for Duke Belt's secret child, Edwin is looking for Drizzt Do'Urden's secret child who was secretly polymorphed into a squirrel... Is Dynaheir really on the same mission? Maybe not; she seems to be chasing after madmen when she could be divining for the person. What is her purpose here?
It...sort of fits. With the assassins; with Dynaheir wanting to get back in touch with me and Imoen; with Elminster dropping in on us.
Imoen said she didn't know who she really was. She's an amazing wizard; she's special. Edwin shouldn't dismiss her like he does. So—I have to keep her safe. She'd still be behind Candlekeep's walls if she hadn't come to find me. (Probably bored like I used to be at home, but now I know what the world can be like bored sounds good.) It's my fault and I have to try... It's best everyone keeps on thinking that the person supposed to be assassinated is someone-called-Sky-Gorion-told-something-to.
There's the alternative, of course, that they didn't mistake me for her after all. That goes with the idea that I'm not really my father's daughter—but that's ridiculous. I won't believe that of my mother without proof; everyone who's ever told me about her says she-was-very-beautiful-and-very-kind. (That seems to be almost all I know about her. She was only a few years older than I am now when she died.) And Shar-Teel thinks I'm completely incompetent, and I am compared to her. Viconia's quite willing to act as her deputy. Edwin calls me a simian or an idiot at least once an hour, although he does that to everyone. Imoen and Garrick are just nice. So it would be...vain and cruel for me to think such a thing.
No more! Must practice traps! Sique is pretty.