the family curse continues

As the sun rose I lifted my parched lips to the sky.
Had I been asleep so long? Last I remember I was being ripped apart by an angry mob...but that could not have been me. For I am flesh and when the mob killed me I was a puppet...a construct of wood.

As I shook my head an stood up I noticed that a bundle had been laid beside me. Something large was wrapped in an ancient cloth. I carefully unwrapped it and sat, stunned as I gazed upon the blessed hammer of Lord Dorvin. Surely it could not be THE hammer. But the workmanship was extraordinary, and who would make the head out of silver these days? I gather the hammer and headed back to the monastery, confident that the monks would be able to provide the answers I sought. Although it took some time, I was correct. They told me that the hammer I carried that day was the same hammer that Lord Dorvin had carried with him as the rode the land, bringing the light of Ezra to the dark places. It surely must be a sign, since it was buried with Lord Dorvin and the bars to his crypt were still in place, unmoved over all these centuries. The monks spent the night meditating on my vision. The full moon rose and brought with it the baying of many wolves, it was a fretful night for many. In the morning the monks explained that my vision was a warning, a sign that I must undertake a quest. A days travel northerly there was a town, Odeon, which was the very town where Lord Dorvin was born. Each year they have a festival for the children, but this year they are planning on replacing the statue of Lord Dorvin with a new statue. I have obviously been chosen to convince the town that this is a bad idea that will bring death and destruction down upon them all. I accepted this quest and left at once for Odeon, pausing only long enough to gather my companions and our meager belongings. The hammer of Lord Dorvin has never left my side since.

After another journey through the swamp, we came upon the town of Odeon where the festival seemed to be well underway. There were people and vendors everywhere. Brightly coloured scarves fluttered in the breeze, children were running everywhere and everyone carried with them a puppet. No sooner had we found the inn, when someone presented us with a puppet and a complimentary drink of some sweet tasting liquor. For a while we could forget the horrors of the swamp and just relax. Until the oakenwolf family curse reared it's head. I have no other explanation for it; the family must be cursed. Kelios had taken a seat when a stranger presented her with a scarf. She turned to face the man, pulled out her knife, slicked off the man's purse and then stood there proclaiming her innocence. As the man cried for the constable and for justice I was able to learn that the punishment for thieves was the loss of a finger. I could not let this stranger harm my cousin over such a trivial misunderstanding (for surely that is what this was, it is inconceivable that I would be related to a common thief). I had to stop this quickly, so I offered the man what he desired; justice. 'As she is my blood, so my blood is her blood and the spilling of one is the same. So take your justice' I said as I bound the scarf around my smallest finger, produced my sword and laid it upon the table. The man seemed shocked as I lay my hand upon the table, finger out, awaiting his strike. Faced with someone of such obvious purity, the man saw the error of his ways and left without further comment. However, when the constable arrived he did not consider this incident closed and jailed Kelios for disturbing the peace. As we reflected upon an event that we had come to expect, one of the local townsfolk started to regale us with tales of the upcoming festival. Although I realize that they thought that it was all in fun, I must not repeat most of what I heard. For many of the activities laughed at the mighty exploits of Lord Dorvin. It seemed that they had forgotten his many great deeds and considered him a clown, someone to laugh at, as if he were some comical druid.

The flame of vengeance filled me at that point and I marched to see the mayor and have him stop such blasphemy. I required more time meditating at that point, for I lost my mind and tried to smash their new statue into pieces with Lord Dorvins hammer. The constable was able to stop me and luckily no one was seriously harmed. Although I did sleep for much of the day and can not tell you of events that happened then. It must be something within the oakenwolf blood, some mental deformity that forces them to perform actions that lead to their incarceration. I resolved to strive to cleanse such a deformity from myself.

I awoke and meditated upon my actions until they were disturbed by the cries of 'murderer'. A man was slain while in his bed is all that I know, although the constable did manage to apprehend a suspect in record time, although how such a drunkard as that could have even walked upright is a mystery to me. I was released and endevered to calm myself and experience the heresy that surrounded me. For until something can be understood, it can not be defeated. I must admit that most of the puppet shows that we saw were quite comical, but the farce that they made of Lord Dorvin's life showed just how far into depravity these people had fallen. It was then that I was convinced that I was not here to convince these people to move to the path of purity, but to lead them from the pit of evil into the light. All that remained was for me to await them falling completely into the pit. I had not to wait long. The constable summoned us as we watched a puppet show and asked us to identify the supposed killer. Peotr and Bernard were not willing to consign the drunken wretch to death and so he was eventually released along with Kelios. As we were leaving someone came rushing in, claiming that a terrible thing had happened at the theater; all of the adults had disappeared!

And thus the pit yawned wider.