Irago Barrera

## Background

He's Irago Barrera and he's a conquistador.

Like the Spanish.

You know, the other French.

## Will

### Last Will of Irago Barrera

Son of Isabella Barrera, Exiled Pike-man of the Roaming Reds, Acolyte of the Red Knight, Brother of the Band, Layer Delver, Carapace Killer, Fortress Fighter, Cliff side Conqueror, Descender of Lighthouses, Sailor, and Oblivion Walker ***AND FIRE WALKER***

### To Jackal

A bandana (cursed, magenta [faded],
worn, badly frayed, ***BADLY BURNED***). Thing kept me live. A
lot of times. It often slips and covers the eyes. Color hides blood well. Cleans out easily. Use only in a bad spot. Iroh got his second chance. This
will give you yours.

### To Iroh

A chessboard (wooden, fold-able) with 32 Full Set (30 bone carved pieces, 1 onyx rook piece, 1 granite-red knight piece [will be on previous owner's left wrist])

Game has kept me busy when bored. Kept me focused when a fight was near. Maybe help you more than it did me. I did lose. A lot. Maybe you'd see something I could not. Help you find another way.

### To Clamor

Some nonsense (flimsy, barely
usable, long shelf-life). Here is a part of an old marching song. Use to yell with the Reds all the time. Maybe you can get a good singer to sing it. Add your own music and lines. Make it your own.

```
Mademoiselle from Waterdeep.
That'll do.
Mademoiselle from Waterdeep.
That'll do.
She's the hardest working girl in town.
She makes her living upside down.
Hinky dinky, that will do.

Mademoiselle from Waterdeep.
That'll do.
Mademoiselle from Waterdeep.
That'll do.
You didn't have to know her long
to know the reason men go wrong.
Hinky dinky, that will do.

Mademoiselle from Waterdeep.
That'll do.
Mademoiselle from Waterdeep.
That'll do.
The tiefling from Waterdeep,
who hasn't been kissed in 40 weeks.
Hinky dinky, that will do.

You might forget the swords and spells.
That'll do.
You might forget the swords and spells.
That'll do.
You might forget the swords and spells.
But you'll never forget the Mademoiselle.
Hinky dinky, that will do

```

### To Hashana Herron

A ~~diamond
(palm-sized, worth 300 GP, bought in Pain),~~ 139 gold pieces, 5 silver pieces. A forward investment in the Band. Use this money to pay them. If they are still in your company.

### To the Band

Everything else EXCEPT my armor (Steel Carapace, probably badly damaged now) and my pike (10 feet, steel tipped, probably broken).

## Last Words

Have two favors to ask for the Band.

First. Erect a trophy near where I fell. Use the pike as a stand for the armor. Then burn my body. If you can't. No worries. Just burn me with my things. Would not want my body in undead hell. Or leave. Depends. I guess. If you can erect the trophy. Thank you. I gave my all this last time because of the Band and Lady Red. Would want yours and her name there.

Second. Deliver my journal to the Quartermaster of the Roaming Reds. Her name is Myrabel Tuneir. In her eighties(?), auburn hair, thin frame, green eyes, flat nose, around 3 feet tall, half-ling. No clue where the Reds are. Ask Oster Brown. He would know. Old patron of the Reds. Once you are out, best bet is to give it to him. Quartermaster ought to know what happened at the quarry. Took care of me for years. Voted against my exile. She gave me courage. Might even send it to my mum and sisters. Hells. Give Bird permission to look at. Might find something she would like to write. Don't think she likes the song.

Two favors. Know it is a lot. Being dead gives me the privilege (that the right word?) to order the Band one last time. If you can not. I will come back. Do it myself. Been a dead man walking. Even before this will. What will stop me? Ashes? Also. It would make Lin mad if I did come back. Heh

Not one for words. Even as I write this. Your skill. Your banter. Your comradery has helped me. Not most get the chance to do this. To write something moments before their fall. I am glad I got to write this. To thank someone. To thank all of you.

Jackal. Thank you for being at my shoulder.

Iroh. Thank you for reminding me of my duty.

Clamor. Thank you for being yourself.

~~Lin~~

Thank you all for moving forward with me.

*- Irago Barrera*

## Journal

#### Day 1:

Killed some bears, saved a merchant family, disrupted an ambushed. Even got a gun for the bird to use. From Clamor to Cannon, I suppose.

#### Day 2:

Made it to the rest stop. Made a deal to kill  some goblins up north. Dealt with it. Fought a particularly stout goblin and I made a trophy to pay homage to Red Knight. Don't know about that whole warding off spirits thing, but I must pay due to Her.

#### Day 3 - 5:

Rested awhile at the Rest Stop. Made some observations on the armor, and it is dwarven mail. Gave it to Lin. Seems she was hesitant, but she wore it. Gotta thank Iroh for his help, but we have rested far enough. Time to continue.

#### Day 6:

Traveled down Ash Corridor. Ran into Flaming Samurai. Got promptly beaten down, but I (the Band) got back up and beat him down. Got his sword, his scales, and met Dunston. We traveled back to the rest stop to rest up.

#### Day 7 - 9:

Found a shop ran by a cat. It had appeared then disappeared. Cat seemed like a cat, it offered supplies, and apparently offers rewards to its patrons. Good enough.

#### Day 10:

Made it to the Quarry.

***A page of paper has been removed from the journal.***

### In the Quarry

#### Day 12 - 15:

It was a rough trek: fought huge spiders, Lin and Jackal mixed antidotes, and almost died in a necromancer's web of undead and an actual web.Made it to Pain. A cramped town with a huge tower. Run by water but water aint running. Burd, the captain of the guard, gave us a rundown of Pain and the 1st layer.A lot of water, running and still. Blackwater, a swamp, and Floodwater Spring, only freshwater here. Powder gangers have a base down in the Springs. Stopping Pain from getting their water and raiding. Typical bandit stuff.Elves running around the whole layer, as Burd says it. Look like goblins, sneaky like goblins, yet tank hits like knights, hits harder like trolls. Stonegrass is their home, west of Pain. Something called the Hollow is there too. A natural shrine. Likely corrupted given the "elves'" looks.Met up with drow Mayor. Tried to get into a contract to safeguard the Band, she refused. Commander always was better at that. Gots to keep being muscle. Only thing I'm good at. Toured the town. It is quaint, but protected. Shacking it in Burd's house, met his sons and daughters. The ones at the smithery were really interested in the fire scale, but the party might have use for it. Met Dunsten, has a stall here. Curious as to how he got up to surface if he's down here.A lot of goods and services.  A lot of adventure types who settled down. A lot of people who quit. Not me.I need to continue, but rest is needed. Just NEED to remember not to stay. Simple.

#### Day 16:

The party is gearing for the Tower of Pain. Open to anyone with a death wish.Sounds like a conquest.

#### Day 17:

Inside the Tower of Pain. A lot of mechanical parts in here. A lot of mechanical creatures too.

#### Day 18 - 23:

That was rough. Constructs and their kindred. Constructed? Hah. Mechnoid? Speaking of arachnid. That large spider almost did the band in. Skewers, blades, and fire. Deadly weapons for a spider, I suppose. Managed to drop the thing with a charge. That, and double smites. Thank you, Strategist. Really need to work on troop placement. Got some gear from the thing, though, and managed to activate (turn on, as Iroh said) the Tower. Burd was especially grateful, and we managed to cash in a few favors throughout Pain.Feel a tad worried though. The things we defeated were fleshy in some areas. And Dunston said the spider had the soul of an elf. A noble one at that. Apparently was still alive when we killed it. It had memories of fighting against its kin in a shell of steel. A terrible fate to be made a traitor by your enemy.

***A chunk of page is ripped out. Only scratched-out, fragmented sentences can be seen.***

*But is it worst to turn traitor yoursel                                          how could a person allow themselves to*

be better if they ended it on their own term              can they still be forgiv

 Surprising to see Chess used as one of the tower's puzzles. Got a chuckle after seeing the eight queens. Reminded me a little about the Commander and the Sect. Last puzzle was hard, though. Had to be careful not to step on any pitfalls. The other four though took their chances, got zapped for it. Managed to go slow and careful. Not a single trap under my feet. Thanks Men, for being brave.Need to offer my prayers to the Strategist. Need give my thanks to Quartermaster soon. Just a lot of fights with beasts or constructs. Hopefully the Powder Gangers put up a fight. Need to fix the pumping station first.

#### Day 24:

Leaving for the pumping station. Gonna try to get the Tower to full (?)power(?). Possible plan for Band: Swamp, Station, Sity, Springs, Safehold. Sity. Stonegrass.Maybe not Stonegrass.

#### Day 25:

Made it close to Blackwater. Talked to an outlander. Apparently the survivalist is gone. Either that or hiding really well. Band is taking the night (?) to sleep before Blackwater.

#### Day 26:

[Hurried scrawl, barely legible] Frogs got us awaking. Mosquitoes got us standing, "Elves" got us fighting. Troll got us running.Made it to Blackwater. Have to find a boat or risk water walking.

#### Day 27:

Made it to the pumping station. Resting in the water control room.Met Sully. An ettercap as he/she/it says. Some kind of spider person. Not a mechanical one, so that's a plus. Lin does not think so. Even broke formation. Will run the pumping station in the morning(?) after rest.

***Sentences are written in shaky scrawls, blood is smeared on the corners.***

#### Day 28 - 29(?):

Rough day. Head got clobbered. Helped kill boar. Did my part.Jackal got withered. Stayed in line. Good man. Did his part.Clamor sang/played. Worked Pumps. Did his part.Iroh blasted. Broke formation, but weak. Did his part.Lin ran, and hid, and whined. She broke formation, again. I miss the Reds.

#### Day 30 - 35:

Town is gearing up for war. Pay back towards the Powder Gangers. Also for the clean water.Have not had much time to write really. In and out from resting from the Swamp run and doing small tasks for the skirmish. Good news. Got a real mercenary gig. Band is going after the boss of the Powder Gangers. Destroy their cannons as well. Going to have a real fight. Going to finally have an offer for the Strategist.

#### Day 36:

Had a great fight today with the Band against Powder Gangers. Fought against Rage itself, Red Beuford. Even set himself on fire too. Laughing the entire time. I would have crumbled easily, but the Bandana kept me up. Red even shook my hand. Least I can do. Offered my thanks to the Red Knight before the throne of Red Beuford for this challenge. Bombed the mortars, rang the bell, scattered the Gangers, and the fort fell afterwards. Some hiccups though. Stumbled out of a bush and tripped on a stone. Band expects me to sneak. Hopefully they know now.

#### Day 37 - 42:

Resting after the Powder Fort Siege. Unsure of what to do nowBurd's sons offered us the chance to forge armaments for us if we ventured into the mine. Would like a new spear, but the Band has no need for new equipment. Leaves me at a lost. Sacrifice a weapon or earn the ire of the Band as a greedy mercenary. Jackal sees me with good graces. Lin's probably already fed up me. Do not want Clamor and Iroh to harm themselv in unnecessary danger.Stonegrass is a no-go. Talked with Mayor Whateverhernameis and Burd. Essentially said don't go there. Burd especially recalls how he and his kin have dirtied Stonegrass with foul water, twisting the Hollow and it is magic. Why bother going in if the fruits are corrupted. Cursed too, probably.  One curse is trouble as is. Jackal seemed disappointed though.

#### Day 43:

***The writing is frantic and free-formed as if the author was afraid of forgetting and tried to scribble as much as they could.***

Had a strange dream. Woke up in cold sweats. I'm scared. Can not shake this feeling that I signed a contract. Quartermaster always told me to be wary about signing my name. But there was no paper, only a dwarf who held out his hand.It is hazy, thinking about him. Saw him in a forest. Near a cabin. Fireflys.A grizzled dwarf. No face. Beady eyes. Gnarled hands. Had a cloak, but was wearing chainmail. A soldier. Hunched over an anvil. Mending a sword. Shattered in many pieces. Broken beyond repair. Yet, he kept hammering at it. Nothing special about the sword. Battlefield scraps. One youd find on a 'volunteer.'Once he saw me, he knew me immediately. Asked me questions: "Why are you still whole? What keeps you that way?"I felt I answered honestly. I wanted to keep moving forward.He laughed at me and offered a handshake and said, "Meet me at the Bottom and we will see if you are still whole." Woke up after I said my name and went to shake his hand. Never got his name. Did not shake his hand.Another reason to keep moving forward.

#### Day 44:

Left Pain. Made it to Maw. Had one last fight with the marauders. Got shocked twice for the trouble. At least their metal heating gave me a bit of a chance. Forest was a bit different. Band almost got choked out. Bunch of waiting vines. Helped a bit with a bit of brawn. Walked for a bit. Found a tomb. Talked a bit about death with Jackal and Lin. Lin especially was interested. Jackal talked about 'sky' burials. Elf things? I got beaten down from a hairy guy and his earth puppet. Offered thanks to bandana. Think I landed the blow on hairy bastard, though.A bit hazy after that. Remember writing near some water. Drank some water. Water was nice. I appeared on a cliff. Jackal appeared. Woke him up. Walked into town. Got a room.Now I am here. Waiting on Lin and Clamor to appear. Writing and mediating to pass the time. Need to learn new tactics to beat Jackal.

#### Day 45:

Dropped the Drow Bomb in front of Lin. May need to tread carefully. Pick my battles. That is what the Red Knight would want of me.

***Faint writing can be seen though the pages appear to be corroded.***

 *---can you read this bir------ve to be really quiet, but if you can, hand talk over to the other three if yo---*

#### Day 46/47?:

***Numerous pages have been torn out since the latest entry.***

On a boat now. Had time to think. Had time to write.Better to just write what happened. Too much to write really. Too much to write cleanly. So, here it goes.Maw's Guide insisted Band do a trial to move on. Seemed like a good conquest. Band had to split up. Lin with Jackal. Me with Iroh. Elves and Humans. Cracked a Joke. Barely made it out. A lot of skeletons, zombies, water, and force cannons. Sounds like a bad joke. Guide was there to welcome us. Lin said Maw's God was here. She said we could challenge it for a blessing. It was an undead elf. One that wield lightning. Seemed like a good fight. Was a good fight. Had a good time. The rest did not. Jackal was singed. Had heavy eyes. Must have been the last of the rust. Lin was more rag and bones then usual. Offered her life for minel. Clamor was exhausted. Did his best. Iroh was...there. Got a book. Jackal said it was a manual on Old Elf tactics. The ones with lightning like the Person the band fought. He eyed it up. Left the place of storms. Continued downwards some more. More trials. More pain. Band ran into a worm. Well, Iroh did. He got swallowed up. Pulled him out. Clamor got swallowed up. Pulled It out. Had to stayed on a stone. Stayed still. Worm was blind. 8 hours of waiting resting. Nothing new. Huge acid worm. Something new.Made it down. Clamor and Iroh had inspiration. Ability to teleport farther. Iroh took Lin and Jackal. Clamor took me. Got us out of cave. Gotta thank Clamor. Ended up in some hills.Hills surrounded by water. Second layer was an ocean. Band saw a port town. Port Lamprey. Only landmark around. Decided to go see it.

***More pages are ripped out.***

Same deal. Just have to state facts. Just the truth.Band came across pirates. Burying a corpse and chest. Well armed and Undead. Sounds like a bad joke.Ambushed them. Pike was ineffective. Jackal used his fists. Worked well. Picked up a shovel. It was better than the pike. Knocked them down. Came back up. Knocked them down again.

***Next sentences are illegible, crossed out and drawn over repeatedly.***

Iroh ran up to us. Saw the chest. Ran over to it. Immediately opened it. He screamed. I recognized that scream. War is filled with them. Should know, I caused a few. Band turned around. Saw him. Said he was fine. Did not believe what 'HE' said. Iroh died. I knew that. Rushed him. Bashed him with the shovel. He took it. Insisted it was him. Just undead. Said was cursed. Yet, he seemed fine with it. Jackal and I lowered our guard.Lin did not.Lin could not..Hard to describe what happened next.Conflict. That is the best word. Not the kind I'm used too. The kind the Commander is used too.Lin questioned Lady Red and the undead. Told her undead were common after wars. Told her my Commander ordered trophies be made on the battlefield. Guide the dead to it and send them elsewhere. Not a blight in her eyes. Just an obstacle to be rid of. Not an affront as she knew. Just an enemy to put down.Hard to ignore Lin's hatred toward the undead. Once Iroh 'turned,' she was conflicted. Said she had to commune with Kelinvor. Either that or leave. All depended on whether she stay or go. Had to stop her from thinking that. Had to keep us together.Had to keep the Band whole.Could not. I may be the one to march forward, but I can not speak. Can not console. Can not mend.Can only look mean.Lin left afterwards. Hard look in her eyes. Would meditate in the Hills where the trial was. Band promised to come back.Iroh looked dejected. His fault. Greed and conceit. Why would he be fine as an undead? He some sort of necromancer? Saw plenty of them on the battlefield. Sect dealt with them. Makes sense now. Trials had Band deal with undead. With Iroh, only the undead targeted me. Seem hesitant to hurt Iroh. Need to talk with Lin about that.Maybe not. Might rock the boat. Hah.Band left without her. Stupid decision after what happened afterwards. Did not know at the time. Had to keep moving forward.Point Lamprey was raided. Pirate Skeletons. Same crew. Same arsenal. Managed to swim to the lighthouse. Found a cramped boat. Not big enough. Climbed the Lighthouse. Better view of the surroundings. Saw what I expected. Slain Townsfolk. Hanged Men. Laughing Victors. Did not expect Lin. Was running through the town. Pirates chasing her. Yelled to Band below. Reacted quick. Knew they would get there first. Not me. Armor to heavy. No magic to move. Did something desperate. Did more desperate things, to be honest.I jumped off a lighthouse. I climbed a wall. I jumped into a battle. I mean, I jumped onto a roof, that landed me in a battle. I was fine after that. Knees still hurt. Surprised I can walk. Iroh teleported me out. Outran most of the pirates. Lin, Iroh, and Clamor barely made it. One pirate even tried to take Lin away. Jackal stopped him. Made it to safe harbors. A pirate was guarding it. Jackal and Lin took him prisoner. Band got onto a sailing boat. Left Port Lamprey.Lin and Iroh did some questionable things to Swabbie/Bob the Skeleton Pirate. Went with it. Give Lin some stress relief. Went too far. Talked to Jackal. Freed the prisoner. Lin and Iroh bonded a little. And that is the gist of it. Now, Band is on the sea(?). No clue what to do. No clue about the boat. Skeleton (not Iroh) guided a bit. Gave directions. Gave clues.I can only hope things get better. At least we are sailing forward.

#### Day 47-49:

Reached dry land. A chain of low islands. Inhabited. Large reptiles with larger maws. Jackal calls them Gigagators. Also Wilson. A trapper. Half-elf who's been living here. Says its been two hundred years. Says he arrived here in 400 ce. Yet Band got in at 1015 ce. Huge time gap. Did that time just vanish? Time longer here? Time even here---Can not really wrap my head around it. Save it for Lin or Jackal.Good rest, all things considered. Band is back to some order. Jackal is lively. Lin back to usual self. Good to see. Might try to ask more about Calivor Celnivo Kelnvor her God. Keep her focused. Though might trigger something with her and Iroh. Gotta try. Still having trouble with the bird. Can not tell if it is happy or not. Looks ready to move. Good enough.Nothing new with Iroh. No sign of curse changing. No sign of any change at all.

#### Day 50:

Nice to see that some morale is back. Got a good one in today with Lin! Payback for her early joke.Lin may be is upset. Did reveal a weakness. Can not swim. Did tie a rope around her. Then jumped in water. Nice, actually. She kept formation. Did not/could not retreat. Did flail about. Heard something about Jackal teaching her. Might work, might not. May need to head back to the boat to get more rope.Uhh.Went to the tower Wilson mentioned. Belonged to someone interested in teleportation(?). Something akin to what Iroh does a lot. Killed a lot of folk. Got killed too. Teleported(?) into beams. Got skewered. Band looted the place. Found two magical items. Lin picked the coat on the altar. Jackal took the pearl. Easy haul. Iroh did most of the work. Need to thank him.Solved mystery of the islands. Barrier of some kind. Needed to be moved. Found an water cave. Band bought water air bottles. Had to hold breath. Band used their hand talk. Iroh went skeleton. Held back. Acted normally and talked. Translated for me.Sunken Elven ruins. A lab, a workshop, a drydock, commons. Fought stone crabs. Ran from a crystal golem. Lin touched a glowing rune. Made it and it started to attack. Blinded and slowed us down. Jackal used the pearl. Banished it and Band retreated. Lin needs to be more careful. Heh. Longest I have heard her not talk.

#### Day 57:

Cowards. Been traveling with cowardsFine. Clamor did what he did. Pressed on. Jackal was spooked, but kept in the fight. Pressed on. Iroh had the curse. But did what he could. Pressed on. Lin, an actual coward. Routed.The wood woad. The water. The pirate captain. Now her God.Left me with the wood woad. Rallied the others to flee. I ran after them, bloodied and ashamed. I forgave her for that.Afraid of water. I understood that. But elfs live for years more than man. Has done nothing to conquer that fear. Took strangers and rope to make her try. Kelevor. I know little about her faith. But being with Lin has given some clues. Now, she wants nothing to do with it. Her church. Her sisters. Her God. Saying how they have sent her on a fool's errand. Saying how they are not her family. Saying how her God has abandoned her. So she gives up. Tossed her holy book and symbol and was done with it?WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?Maybe Iroh was some trigger to this? Eagerness at his curse and Lin's devotion to cleansing undead had clashed? Maybe her isolation, her commune, made her doubtful? The fools. Both of them.But to say farewell to it all? Right there and then? On some rotted boat? Amongst our slain foes? Band was beaten down, yes, but that was a call for celebration. A trophy was erected. Offerings were given. Blessings were thanked. But her rejection had mocked this site. I said little about it. Too confused by her announcement. Tried to learn why. Was frustrated. Tried to stop her.Saying she had thought about it for days. Saying her God had abandoned her. Saying she wants to see her family.All well put reasons. But cowardly all the same. They always do justify their actions.Said she been with the church for 15 years. Is 15 years nothing her? A mere weekend to her kind? Faith to be caste aside on a moment's notice?

***Puncture marks with heavy ink splotches can be seen.***

10 days must have been a minute to her. 30 years I have been with the Reds. 30 years I have lived, laughed and bled with them. Ever since my first silver. They have cared for me. I have cared for them. Course all of my pay went back to my mum and sisters, but the Reds had become my new family. Red Knight bless Mum and my sisters. Quartermaster too.But for that coward to abandon her sisters? Her God? Had she gone mad? Had she not been this symbol of Kelevor? A cleansing presence and tool of divine power? At Last Point, she had meager miracles. Days ago? She had grown in strength through her faith. Bestowed by her God. Now, she caste it aside. All because Kelevor did not give her the answer she wanted? Arrogance.My faith is simple. Be brave. Fight anyone in your way. Move Forward.Yet some say that is not enough. I am not 'attuned' with the Red Doctrine. I have reserved judgement against cowards. I have been insulted. I have conceded to retreat. The Commander had viewed this as a weakness. She said this weakness had stayed my hand from harming an old friend. Weakness had brought shame to me and the Reds. Weakness had demanded I seek redemption on a quest for Oster Brown. Weakness, she said, had its hold on me. Doubts had clouded my mind.I could not speak against the Commander. But I know she was wrong. I know when to be brave and stay my hand. The Red Knight sees this.I fight when asked of me and I know when to stop. The Red Knight knows this.I move forward for it is ordered of me and I will never falter. The Red Knight blesses me for this.Lin may had allowed herself to be swallowed by weakness and doubt. I say my weakness and doubt was reforged, strengthened into a weapon of my design. Quartermaster said I would find this journal handy. Said it would help with my thoughts. She was right. Can not say if it helped or not.

#### Day 60:

Nearing Port June now. Had a rough go at the Draining Pools. Managed to weather the waterfall entrance into it. The tunnels spewed us out. Literally. Rough currents. Even rougher attitudes. Band did not speak about it openly. Could see the glares in their eyes. Mine too. Did not speak to Lin that much. Let alone anyone. Been a day after Pools. Quiet day Went back through my last scribbles. All that water cooled me off. Struck out some words. Written in anger. Written without info. Still upset with her. But she is here still. Maybe she cooled off too. Will try to be 'nicer.' Whatever that means. Lin did do some new stuff. Things I have not noticed. May have learned something new. Might make up for her losing her blessing. Will have to see in battle. If not. More work for the rest of the Band.Band has gotta stick close. Been through this much. So far. What is another layer or two.Speaking of. Jackal is more or less the same. Haggard after the Pools. Disappointment in his eyes. Yesterday on the helm. Saw him reading through that tactics manual.  Heard him muttering about 'channeling lightning' and 'being so close.' Might be he wants to be like that one undead elf. Clamor. Clam~m~m~m~m~m~m~or is fine. Nothing new.Iroh seems weaker. Band may have neglected his health. His curse. May have understood he wanted this. No clue anymore. Paler. Frail. When the Band last fought the pirates Iroh had some trouble. Tried to cast magic but it back fired. Made me think about the whole pirate fleet. Pirates known to mutiny. No signs of infighting so far. No other fleets. Maybe curse has means to stop mutiny. Like if a pirate tries to hurt another pirate they get harmed instead. Moon might be issue. Might find answers at Mount Ariel. Might find answers in Port June. Which is a problem. LIVING folks. Possible help and information. Undead occupation. Possible harm and execution. Can not just force our way. Wilson may know something. Said he lived there. But he fled once pirates came. Been awhile for him. Might not remember. Might not know anyone. Anything is helpful. Iroh may need to parley.

**~~Garvon House~~**

**~~Basba, Large Fellow, Hairy~~**

**~~Glass Broken Out Back~~**

***The lines appear to be delicately written but are soon heavily censored due to deep gouges and hashes.***

#### Day 63:

Clamor on the sails. For a second. Some time to write. Close call with some pirates.

#### Day 65:

It is settled. Been given a chance few get to see. Days, weeks, maybe even months before my fall. I have a few regrets. That is a given. Reaching the end of the Quarry. No matter how many layers. Meeting the dwarf in my dream. The one at Pain. Moving forward with the Band. Seeing it is even possible to make it out. Commander thought I die due to the Quarry curse. She wasn't wrong. Nor was she right. Different curse entirely. It is a death that I chose. And getting the chance to face it. Head on. At the cost of my body? Good deal. Also makes up for the pain Iroh went through. Band did wander around for awhile. Dipshit did get himself in that mess. No fooling that. Gave him another chance. "Strength given today is strength returned tomorrow, twice-fold." Doomed to die anyway. Better him than me. Also. Completes Lin's wish. Two in one. Maybe this chance at death will steel him. Help those around him. Get them to the next layer. Maybe time to write about the transfer. Thought it be something like Lin's healing transfer. The one at the cliff-side fight. Nothing like that at all. Funny. Moments before, I must have scared Jackal. He was worried. Talking about if this is right. That I am still needed. Tried to argue back. Mostly yelled at him. That got him to stop. Who else but me? Maybe doing nothing was another choice. Maybe letting Iroh die was the best choice. Could not have known. Would not want to know. Hell. Maybe this transfer would earn some points with Lady Red and her Echelon. No clue. Spitballing.About the transfer before I lose the thought. Saw a field. Trees around me. This place. The one where I let Esteban go. But he was not here. Commander and the recruits were here. They surrounded me. Commander asked me questions. Then sent the lads at me. I defended myself. Had to. Trained to. Commander kept asking me. Who do you think you are? What right do you have? Used chess against me. Said I was not the pawn I knew myself to be. Freed myself from the boys. Stabbed the Commander. Had one last question for me. What do you live for? I could not answer. Found myself with Iroh afterwards. He was talking to Lin. She asked some pointed question.  At both of us. Called her a coward. Got my final word in. Heh She turned into...shadows. A lot them. Stood my ground. Told Iroh to use magic. To stay behind me. He did. To great damage. But the shadows kept lashing me. Yet I stood. Lash after lash. I stood. Then it surrounded me. Could not see. I woke up. Changed. White skin. Old scars look much worse. No breath. No heat. No pain. Undead. Still got my beard.About the dream. I have done much. That is a given. Maybe I was not the pawn I imagined myself to be. Was a mere foot-soldier. But time, faith, and my comrades have given me the chance to be more. Maybe more a rook then anything else. Still move forward. As I ought to do. But capable of much more than that. Jackal moved forward with me into battle. Iroh and Clamor forced me to move sideways to protect them. Lin made me move backwards when needed. Out of Chess likenesses. Commander asked me what do I live for. I can answer that now. I lived because I know I could protect my brothers. I moved forward so they were behind me. I fulfilled that purpose. I can still do it. With this curse. Cold body and all. Yet. When the time comes. I must fight for myself. For the Red Knight is still with me. Even now.Lady Red knows my body must stay here. Against Cortez. Possibly Cortez. Tall Skeleton. Black leather armor. Gold trim. At a manor. With a port. Large boats. Checks out so far. Need to plan. Need to prepare. Need to pray. Need to fight. Need to move forward one last time.

***Papers from this point on are filled with largely-written scrawls, some lopsided and blending into other lines. Whereas the previous entries had writing that could be considered messy but eligible, these new lines are hard to decipher if not for the huge handwriting. At times, the writing is faint and almost transparent which is then contrasted by some lines with punched-through marks and heavy ink blotches.***

#### Day 73:

Ran into a problem. Can not see. Did not realized till after we dived. Eyes must have been okay for a little bit. How else could the will be written. But now. Much harder to write. Can still see shapes. Faces too. Only about 30/45 feet out. Can see my journal. My hand too. But journal is empty. Have to be careful writing. Have to dog-ear pages. Strange. Suppose my soul(?) is adapting to this. Body is gone. Soul picking up the slack. Need to check this body daily. Can not have it harm the band.Speaking of. Band back in Point June. Trying to get a better foothold. Need a base of sorts. Before the Band tries anything against Pirates. Don't have Core. Can't just duck out. Be better if we could come back to defenses. Plans against them after securing position and what not.Working with folks to get this. Folks having us find more folks. Band does that, we get folks help for other folks operations. Talked to new folks. Might us help out with other things. Trying to be subtle. Just in case. Oh. Bird talked on her own. Can not really describe the sound. Hope she can sing Reds marching song with that. Hope she speaks more.Iroh much more cleaner than before. Washing out the blood and sick does that. Believe lifting the curse gave him new outlook. Good for him.Jackal seems unhinged. Take it our plans against the pirates and the curse shook him. Seems fine though. Still keen on acting. Thankful for that. Ms. Harran is strange. Talks a lot about books. Trying to act like a character from one. Still time for her to show herself within the Band.

#### Day 77:

It is time. Near the end.Fought Ingward. Burnt a good chunk of me. Can barely write. Barely fight. Bastard left me with bone fingers. Strange enough to write without eyes. Did not even shoot or hit me. Just melted me. Ok fight. I suppose. Ingward has some new scars (?). Left a mark on the undying. Red Beaford at least swung something.Had fun with warehouse raid. Something new before I pass on. Might gain favor with Lady Red for that and that fire fight. Not gonna write about Abbey or Resistance. Never been my thing. Especially with Rito now. Let the Band worry about that. Hells. Hope they never go back.Shame though. Not gonna be in my peak for Cortez. Thought I do some good before I do that. Help folks. Help the Band. Kinda bit me in the ass off my ass. burned my ass.Shit happens. Was reckless. Let others be reckless. Who cares. Regret is terrible here. Find peace and accept it.Curse give me my chance to meet with fate. Not just wander anymore. An actual end. Not just this...abyss.Past weeks been thinking about my faith. My soul. Think it is better not to think to hard about it. I am good at on thing. Moving forward. And that is what I must do.

***In the nicest handwriting that can be capable for a blind, crippled and boney hand, a small prayer concludes this journal of an equally narrow-minded, dull-witted, and somewhat-questionable man.***

Lady Red lead the Band in my place.

Lady Red guide me one last time.

Lady Red judge me after that.

Lady Red take me home.

*- Irago Barrera*