An odd thing happened today…

As every morning, I waited in the Church gardens to watch the rising Dawn as I said prayers for the new life that might rise this day. Some of the children waited for the Dawn with me, and they played with butterflies and fed squirrels while I went inside to help prepare their breakfast. Such is the way of the peaceful life at the House of the Morninglord.

However the odd thing occurred while we were all eating omelettes and warm bread with Father Lorne – the houseman from the Malkardis Estate, Maynin, arrived at our door.

I was at first quite shocked that he would come to our modest temple, as I thought he was not interested in such places of worship, but I was eager to introduce him to the% Morninglord, to see his first Dawn. Then I realized he was in fact just delivering an invitation and a formal frock. He informed me that I was invited to attend a ball at the Malkardis Estate, and that my presence was very much anticipated.

I was truly baffled. The Malkardis family is of Noble stock, and not known to associate with town folk, let alone clergy of the Morninglord. I eventually overcame my bewildered shock and decided to attend this gala in order to find out why they wanted to invite me, of all people, to their manor.

On the way there, I met up with Reynard, my occasional hunting companion who helped me chase some stray bobcats away from our Church last year. He’s a good man, though a little too involved with the Gundarakite superstitions. He is good with his longsword and his hunting bow, though I admit that I do not know him well beyond that.

We talked briefly as we walked toward the Malkardis Estate before we ran into the fair foreign woman named Elaana that only arrived in Vallaki very recently. I am not sure what to make of her quite yet, though I find myself watching her walk often. Her silken grace shines through her as she walks, as if her body and spring leaf dress were in agreement on elegance in motion. She seems to distrust Barovians and Gundarakites equally, and I rarely see her. When I do, I find that her tranquil voice and gentle demeanor are enough to turn a sunless day into the brightest of hopeful Morns.

They had both received similar invitations and offers of attire, and we all entered the ball teeming with curiosity. I noticed a startling image of a stern-looking woman who, I assume, is the lady of the house. We ate a strangely small yet oddly artistic dinner with some upperclass citizens whom I had met only once or twice during my lifetime in the village.

As it turned out, the Lord of the Estate, Korovan Malkardis, needed a local escort for Kadar to go to an ancient ruined city to acquire some kind of relic. He selected us because, he said, we had some experience outside of the normal life of a villager, and because his normal guards were otherwise busy with other family members. I was fairly suspicious of his reasons, but he offered 300 gold for us to do his task. I accepted the job and immediately requested half upfront so I could begin construction on a new wing for the Orphanage.

I am naturally quite wary of the venture, but I am well-suited to the aim of the task and it offers a fair wage that I could use to expand on the crowded Orphanage.

• Charsen, servant of the Morninglord
  • Charsen’s Journal: Index

Index: Feb-6-08