…now ten pages long!
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Sister Bomia’s Adventure Diary
Crossing Grand Lake
Foxday 3, White Moon Month, Year 25 of the Golden Emperor
Dear Diary,
After a long day of riding north from Golin, we came to Grand Lake, which certainly lives up to it’s name. For most of it’s length of 120 miles, it is about 10 miles wide. The Tumbling River feed into the northern end and the River Ivildis begins at the southern end. For about half of it’s length, the lake lies between the Troll Hills to the west and the Hills of Pain to the east. More on this later, Diary.
Our trip across the lake, lengthwise I should add, began at the bustling town of Haversly. The town is where cargo rafts from the city of Palkus, capital of Ixokal, at the northern end of the lake meet the cargo rafts coming up the Ivildis from places like Salvyot, Zonberra, the Neeren Empire and Fasquatal. I’s a good sized town, but pretty much all business. Amella remarked that this was precisely the sort of town where a skilled thief could make a good living. Fortunately, I was able to buy her a mug of ale and a sausage roll to get her mind off such an endeavor while Olivia went to get us passage on a boat heading north.
Scarcely an hour later, we and our horses were onboard the “Queen of the Lake”, a huge barge loaded with everything from Salvyot wine to about 100 head of sheep from the D’albek Valley. Our quarters were a tent amidships, one of 6 erected for passengers. The barge captain was an Ixokali named Banthik. Like all members of his race, he is gray of skin, white of hair and quick of movement. Some people call the Ixokali “catlike”, but I find then to be more foxlike. Their eyes take in every detail and they often pause to sniff the air.
The barge is powered back up the lake by 24 strapping young Ixokali of both sexes. Their efforts moved us at a steady speed of about 2 miles an hour. We were told that they row for 12 hours, then are replaced by 24 more. We were also informed that meals would be simple, hearty and served 4 times a day.
Our first day of travel was relaxing and a bit boring. However, by late afternoon we had come to what the Captain called “the endless war” between the Green Trolls of the Troll Hills and the Stone Ogres of the Hills of Pain. At first, we could only hear the distant sounds of battle, but then we veered over to within about half a mile of the Troll Hills to see the war in more detail.
It was a scene of incredible carnage, Diary! Thousands of Trolls and Ogres slaughtering one another. The Captain said the same thing was going on in the Hills of Pain. Halana asked how this was possible, since there was no sign of any boats. We learned that both sides fear the lake for some reason, so they actually tunneled under it in order to fight their centuries long war, which Ixokali legends say has been going on for 2,000 years. Olivia called it madness and I agree.
By late afternoon on the second day, we were back in the middle of the lake and learned that we would be getting into Palkus in the wee hours of the morning. Grettin brought out our map of known and rumored portions of the Great Road. It looks like after a stop in Palkus, we’ll find a portion of the Road going due east to the Wall Mountains. I hope we don’t have to climb over those tall and jagged peaks.
I’ll write more soon, Diary.
Sister Bomia Evarain
The Dociverse Blog 