Joryn - 1

## Destruction of Moira's Victory

I arrived in Moira's Victory just earlier today and I'm already leaving it by ship.  I'm not exactly sure where I'm going, either.

I don't much like ships; there aren't very many places to run or hide should the need arise.  And yet it seemed like the best way out of the city as it was being invaded.

Moira's Victory is no longer under Napolite control; it's presumably under New Kalian rule now.  I ran into two of her cloaked irregulars at the gates right as the last of the four posted guards was being slaughtered.  I think their plan was to quickly and quietly kill the sentinels and then open the gates for their army.  It worked.

We, a few apparent comrades and myself, approached the scene after hearing the struggle from a short distance away.  One of the irregulars had already been killed before we arrived and the second was put down by a large Xolmeth warrior that I had only met—sort of—just minutes earlier.

There were four of us altogether who responded to the sounds of conflict: the Xolmeth warrior; a squire to the Xolmeth with some sort of magic like the Great Ones; an errant knight named Yavin; and myself.

Yavin used some sort of magic of his own to heal the fallen irregular after the Xolmeth warrior had knocked him unconscious.  I disarmed and bound him.  I also found one of the guards still alive and did my best to bandage him.

I recommended that we keep the agent to question him later, but that was before I realized there was an army advancing from just outside the gates.  That changed everything.  I quickly removed any valuables from the dead irregular, dragged the patched guard to the safest place I could find, slit the throat of the irregular that Yavin had just healed, and immediately began to sprint back to my tavern to collect my gear.

Yavin, I found, is a bit of a romantic and was upset with me for dispatching our foe.  What a strange man.  If he's so concerned about others, why didn't he heal the surviving guard?  More importantly, why didn't he take the time to close the gate?

## First Encounter

I had first met Yavin a day or so earlier on the road to Moira's Victory.  Our paths converged just before a bridge where he, whom I had quietly allowed to take the lead, encountered two highwaymen only a few paces ahead of me.

Had I encountered the highwaymen alone, I might have been able to pass by safely as a fellow roamer; hard to say for sure.  Yavin, however, didn't seem interested in talking or paying his way through the situation.  He was ready to fight.

Up ahead of us on the other side of the bridge was a third person that was determined to help fight off the highwaymen.  She was a local farm girl named Vera and is aspiring to be some sort of hero.  She seems to be an excellent shot with the bow, as well.  She's certainly better than me.

I, on the other hand, was not interested in a fight.  I considered leaving Yavin, dashing between the two highwaymen, and sprinting across the bridge.  At the time, however, I didn't know if Vera was with them, against them, or neutral.  The fact that she had a bow made me suspicious; she could have been a staged accomplice.  Up until that point, I wasn't even sure about Yavin; that's why I let him lead.

I decided to take my chances alongside Yavin.  I faced one and Yavin the other.  Vera also spun around and struck Yavin's opponent's arm with an arrow.  I later saw her facing two more highwaymen on her side of the bridge.

Several moments later, a Great One named Mareth and his child apprentice Lagreth also entered the fray to help us fight off the highwaymen.  By then Yavin's opponent had already announced surrender and mine was just following suit, but I think Vera was ready for assistance.  Her dominant arm and hand had been badly maimed.

I'm not exactly sure what Mareth did, but I do recall hearing one of Vera's foes begin to scream in torment.  The other one took off running shortly after.

We accepted surrender from the remaining highwaymen and allowed them to depart after Mareth questioned them.  I'd have let them go sooner but wasn't interested in being contrary with a Great One.

Mareth had his apprentice Lagreth use his magic to heal Vera's injuries.  This is the first display of magic that I can ever recall witnessing.  Yet, just a few moments later, Yavin demonstrated his magical healing abilities for the first time in my presence, as well.

And so, in just these past few days, I've seen far more conflict than I tend to and encountered four different magic users!  I've also managed to get my hands on two very nice short swords from the fallen irregulars.

## Gypsies

After our encounter at the bridge, Mareth suggested that we travel together to Moira's Victory.  I didn't object and neither did any of the others.

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful with the exception of some travelling gypsies that we encountered.  Mareth announced them to be non-hostile to us so we elected to share camp.

Most of the evening was what you'd expect from gypsies; they played music, sang, and danced.  It was a pleasant escape.  However, I did notice a number of fine weapons carefully concealed in their wagons.  I mentioned this to Mareth, who also thought it a little strange, but he didn't seem too concerned.  He did suggest, however, that we cease to travel with them so as to avoid any unforeseeable entanglements.

I didn't give the gypsies much more thought until well after we arrived in Moira's Victory.  One of the city guard approached and questioned me on the matter.  He said that he had found the weapons and confiscated them when they sought entrance to the city, but also received a lead that I might be able to provide additional information.  All I knew was what he seemed to already know.  It was all very peculiar.

A few hours later, I slit the throat of one of the gypsies.  They were the irregulars.  They attempted to smuggle in the weapons so that they could assist in the taking of the city.  The most peculiar part about this, however, is the fact that they knew they needed to smuggle in the weapons.  Moira's Victory, and all other borderland cities for that matter, tend to allow people to carry their weapons openly.  The only reason why the city was keeping weapons at the gate was because it was to host a truce negotiation between Napolia and New Kalia.  That was apparently just a trick.