Darkest Diaries : A crumpled notepad, Part 1

(This notepad was found seemingly hidden somewhere within the tavern. Its pages are crumpled, but most of it is still within reasonably good condition, and most importantly, readable.)

Day 1, Entry #1
The stagecoach of the hamlet is something to behold, indeed. Broken planks of wood, it smells like horse dung, and there's this weard, smiling, bearded man who gives me the chills. He tells us to wait here, since it is our first day, until the lord of the place can come and have a look at us. ''Lord'' is a big term -- the estate is in a state of absolute ruin, and if the things I've heard are true, then it's even worse than that. I'll try to stay logically skeptical about some of the things though. Some of these rumors are just ridiculous.

Day 1, Entry #2
The ''Lord'', a certain man Garland, came. And when he did, I regretted ever coming to this place. The man looks fine enough -- brown hair, a bit taller than me. He was in a leather tunic, and looked well built enough, carrying a sword and a few daggers on him. It seemed like the rumors saying he had been in the frontlines on the first days were true -- the man looked every bit a fighter. But from the start, something seemed... wrong. Took a while, but I put my finger on it. The man was, and still is, utterly mad. He mumbled to himself while looking at the few people -- few, I am speaking three of us. Three poor sods who decided the outside world wasn't quite dangerous enough for their taste. Seems normal enough -- commenting on what you see... Except he wasn't talking to himself, but rather answering himself. It makes me rethink my life choices.

Day 2, Entry #1
I made my decision : I will stay. The man is mad, but the promised gold is enticing. This family was mighty and powerful, right? There must be something left of that in those ruins. It seems he is low on personnel -- there must be five, six, maybe seven people in the tavern who are here to actually fight for this dump. The hamlet is just about as impressive as that -- broken buildings, total disrepair... Bah, I've seen worse. Apparently, we'll be going out on an expedition to clear the roads leading from the hamlet to the rest of the estate. Called it ''The Weald''. Apparently, we have to go through that forest. I can't imagine it being much worse than stabbing a few starving bandits and putting down a few wild dogs, so it seems easy.

Day 2, Entry #2
I met up with my party. A fool of a man named Oagoz, all in plated armor, and his love stricken pocket-dog of a priestess named Ella. There... is a third person, but I'm not entirely sure he counts. The madman is dressed in a buffoon's outfit, and carries around a lute, a sickle and a small dirk. He sat in his corner, strumming his guitar, while Oagoz ranted about the cleansing of this place being the will of the Gods. This will be a long expedition.

Day 3, Entry #1
We departed early enough, though I did have the time to prepare myself adequately. Oagoz isn't exactly an early riser. That... that jester though, he offsets me. He hadn't moved from his spot since yesterday, and was still strumming that damn lute of his, mumbling to himself lowly -- lucky I have a good ear, cause you can barely hear it from underneath that mask of his. He got up, never stopping himself from playing, and we departed. Oagoz seemed to think the light of day would be enough to keep us from becoming blind in the woods, but they seem to thick to let sunlight pass. I grabbed a few torches just to be sure. You don't live as long as I have by being careless and thinking the Gods will take care of everything.

Day 3, Entry #2
We entered the woods. The entrance -- and it was an entrance. A metal gate with crows ornamenting it, surrounded by stones with the symbols of the liege houses carved into them. It was clear of anything, though... the woods seem in even worse shape than even then rumors say they are, if that is even possible. The stench of this place is intoxicating, and I can hardly take a breath without having a fit of cough. There's much more than mold growing on the trees -- there's mushrooms everywhere, as if they were feeding off the trees themselves. And don't even get me started on the things that try to grab and claw at your ankles, or the ground that makes frankly disgusting noises when you walk. This expedition won't only be long -- it'll be straight up maddening!

Day 3, Entry #3
A few hours after I let down my quill -- maybe someday, some poor sod will find this and find some use in my experience. Who knows? -- we met up with a few rabid dogs. They were dispatched quite easily, as were the gigantic maggots that seemed to follow suite after the hounds. Even though they were easily killed, it's nothing less than horrifying to see those huge larvas that were munching on bodies lying around the forest. I tried to convince the others that we should get some rest -- we had been walking all day, after all, but Oagoz would have none of it, and though I saw Ella was clearly tired as well, she sided with him. Of course she would. As for Willow, the lute-loving buffoon who is supposed to be our teammate, he cackled and claimed that sleep was for those with time to lose -- and apparently, we don't fit in that group. This expedition is going to be a long, maddening, and quite probably deadly, if the others insist that we keep going without sleep for long.

Day 4, Entry #1
I'm yawning regularly now, as is Ella. Oagoz's steps seem less certain -- we've been awake for nearly two days now, and the fights seem to take a bigger toll each time. The only one of us that doesn't seem affected is Willow. I thought he was entirely useless, but he proved otherwise when he single handedly dispatched three large, rabid hounds on his hound -- without getting bit or even scratched once! The man (is he even a man? I don't know anymore) may be entirely mad, but... if he isn't efficient, I don't know what is. So far, we have only seen hounds, large maggots, bandits and a few spiders of unnatural size... But none of them were much bigger than the maggots -- which themselves were the size of a large dog, mind you, so I found it difficult to feel as surprised as I was when I first saw those oversized insects.

Day 4, Entry #2
Ella fell.
No, she did not die -- she quite literally fell down from exhaustion, though it was hard to tell. She had barely any scratches on her -- as foolhardy as he may be, Oagoz did a good job at drawing fire to himself, screaming about being the Sword and Shield of the Gods... bah. After Ella fell, even Willow had to admit to taking a break of a few hours. Oagoz insisted on keeping watch, so Willow simply shrugged and slouched against a tree, strumming his lute. I myself decided to take my backpack as a pillow and rested for a few well-deserved hours.

Day 5, Entry #1
'Tis morning, and Oagoz, despite all his big talk, still fell asleep during his watch. Lucky us that Willow had our backs -- and seeing as how he fought, I don't mind having him guarding my back. Better than have him trying to rip it to shreds, I say. He was standing, leaning back against a tree and absent-mindedly strumming his lute, once again, but from the way he was looking around you could tell he was keeping a vigilant watch over our sleep. Despite everything, he might be the most sane of the other party members. I would have goaded Oagoz about falling asleep, but seeing as how Ella seemed to be so compassionate to him about, and the dark look she gave me, as if to dissuade me, I decided to back down. She and her lover may have been foolhardy, but I'd be a fool to deny the usefulness of what she calls the ''Light''. It won't bring a man back from the dead, but it'll heal and patch up that nasty gash you have in your belly. Not that anyone had sustained anything as bad yet, but...

Day 5, Entry #2
We reached a crossing. I put out the idea that we should head back -- we had already gathered a few heirlooms, a few purses of gold and a couple gems, so our bags were laden with loot to bring back, and to my surprise, the others agreed. Not energetically, but... they must have been more tired than I thought.