《The Marked Ones》Prologue: From Ronan's Research Journal
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Day 4/8/861
I arrived at EastFront around noon. The trip through the south was horrible; I thought I would never reach my destination.
The roads are frightful and full of bandits. I thought that all these problems were typical of East Mizuna, but apparently, bandits are rampant in the West. Luckily I didn't lose anything along the way, nor did I have to brandish my weapons.
On the way, I ran into a group of bandits. They were filthy; one of them had teeth so rotten I thought he was going to knock me off my horse with his breath alone.
That would haunt me for a couple of days.
Obviously, seeing me, they thought it would be a good payday, but I managed to evade them after showing them a couple of magic tricks.
I could have sworn one of them peed himself with fear.
Eastfront is a big, vibrant and exciting city. I loitered around here for a couple of hours, looking for some information about my targets, but apparently, people here are susceptible to it. Well, I would be sensitive too with all the nonsense people tell on the streets.
In a tavern, a couple of merchants told me stories about "demons" capable of cursing the crop fields, rotting everything in their path with just a sigh. They swear and swear again on their mothers that everything they say is true, that they witnessed it.
Allow me to disagree, gentlemen.
I entered the local temple searching for some scribe with local information. A very young boy attended me. It seemed I was the first traveler he had seen in a long time, so he didn't leave my side.
The boy told me that whoever was in charge of the manuscripts wasn't in the place, as he had gone to perform a blessing. When I asked the child where he was, he told me the name of an establishment I had seen entering the city.
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I am almost sure that place was a brothel.
After that, I stayed around the temple library. I convinced the boy to let me in with a bit of trickery. I have no intention of taking any books with me this time; my plan is to gather a bit of local history about the Marked Ones.
In between stories about "demons" and other crude ones, I found mentions of a couple of places northwest here.
The hills south of Windcall, a mining town, have some cursed areas. That constantly alludes to an Entry Point. Then there's another one further north, but I have no intention of freezing my ass off in the middle of the mountain.
The book mentions stories in the woods and another in a strange hole near the town of Sunhold. Well, I think I'll have an entertaining couple of weeks.
I think I'll spend a couple of days in Eastfront and then head to Sunhold. I may use it as the halfway point in all directions.
Also, at night, I saw a White Flame detachment here at Eastfront. They look like recruits, but if they have a tracker, it may cause me trouble.
Another night sleeping with my eyes open. What a joy.
I bring with me the elements for the ritual. If all goes well, I may have a couple of conclusions in my report to Adhaz.
It's about time I got some real answers.
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