I am on the road again. Barely two days worth of rest, and I am back on my feet again. It’s worse this time… Escorting Jen back to the Druid’s Grove, I have been spoiled with a taste of company. Now I am alone, I yearn for someone to talk with. That’s why I am writing this letter to you. Because I’m lonely. I’m sat here, under a tree, with no living being within eyesight. Oh wait, I can make out a solitary sheep on yonder hill. I am even reading this letter aloud as I write just so I have a voice to hear. It will be another two days before I arrive at a town where I can post this, so this will become somewhat of a mundane journal. I apologise, friend.
Evening now. Another tree, another addition to the letter. I’m setting up camp, got some sausages to fry. Morab was very generous this time. I have also found some wild potatoes and garlic. What a feast! Shame it isn’t the strawberry season. That would have finished off the meal quite nicely. I was going to write another myth about one of the Crowns, but it’s getting too dark for me to write now. Epic time-keeping fail. My shelter isn’t brilliant; I do hope it doesn’t rain.
It rained. Soggy pages. Sorry. Maybe they’ll have dried by the time you get this, but even then the ink might have run and the paper will be that much firmer and crinklier, if you know what I mean… I have a long leg of my journey to get through today so I won’t be taking substantial breaks. I have an epic ravine to cross today. That one with the crocodiles at the bottom? I shouldn’t really say where I’m going. But it’s written now, and I don’t like blotting pages. Especially letters.
Ok. So it is raining madly again. I have found a cave at the top of the ravine to shelter in. And I thought what better opportunity to write a story than now. This is a story about a Crown that relates to a ravine. Possibly the one I am embarking across now. I just got a shudder. That shudder when you are at the location where history has been made. Exciting…
The story! Unfortunately, I do not have my sources with me so I cannot confirm whether this is in fact the same ravine, but I do know that they come from a journal kept from a man who guided treks across the ravine and surrounding area. He was a professional and rigorous with his journal keeping that was written up at the end of each day. Thank goodness for people like him, else us scholars would be half-crazed! I’ll let you know whether it’s the same ravine when I return to the Grove. Then I might return to the ravine to perform a more in-depth study.
Anyway, here’s the account.
They had set out early that morning, all kitted out and prepared. The guide, Huette, was taking just one person with him. This man had paid a lot of money for this expedition, and it wasn’t even a particularly difficult one. Indeed, the only difference was that this man wanted to abseil down the ravine at a particular location - next to where the sun passes through the Frigid Rock as the sun approaches its zenith.
Huette knew well the Frigid Rock but had never been there when at noon, he had confessed. The man’s name was Brynnd. He was an awkward-looking man, curious features, but Huette knew not to question people’s appearances. Especially if they were physically superior to him, and Brynnd looked strong.
The pair journeyed to the Frigid Rock and waited until noon. Huette admitted later that he was skeptical that anything would happen. But, his cynicism was disproved as the sun reached its zenith and the rock emitted a beam of light onto the ground some forty metres away from where they were sitting. Later, Huette would discover that the Frigid Rock was artificial and bore a system of mirrors inside it.
Having discovered where they were to abseil down, Huette started to set himself up to do the deed. However, he was challenged by Brynnd. “You are my responsibility,” Huette explained. “If anything happens to you, I am liable to charges from your family and my reputation would be ruined.”
“I have paid a lot of money for you to help me. And what is down there is mine. I will not risk you stealing what is rightfully mine.”
“You are a treasure seeker?”
“Something like that. Harness me up.”
Huette reluctantly did so, and as he did Brynnd took out of his pack a fine crown. It was a small tiara with embedded sapphires, which shimmered and sparkled in the sunlight. Huette did not enquire. As a man of principle (and mild fear of Brynnd), he believed that it would be best not to ask.
Brynnd was lowered down the side of the ravine slowly and carefully, and everything was going well. Brynnd shouted up to announce that he had safely landed on a small ledge. Huette heard no more from Brynnd. There was a silence for quite a while, and then a scream and then Huette saw Brynnd fly into view and down, down, down into the ravine.
When they found Brynnd’s body downstream, there were mysterious scratches on his forehead. His crown was missing.
Huette could not understand what had caused this, but he suspected that there was a quake of sorts that created a great surge of water that swept down the ravine and that Brynnd would have fallen into. Huette suspected that the quake caused Brynnd to fall. The torrent of water in question is reported to have also swept away a village from the map.
Huette was imprisoned for life under suspicion of murder, though no one ever came forward claiming to be related to Brynnd. Huette died in prison an old and lonely man.
I am afraid that there are more tragic stories than happy ones when it comes to the Crowns. I do not doubt that Brynnd’s crown was indeed one of ‘our’ Crowns. Unfortunately, I am unable to identify it. But I am going to put this next on my to-do list. This is reported to have happened eight hundred-ish years ago. Can’t be specific without my notes! So not too long after Hunn’s time, possibly.
Well, I am going to set off again - it has stopped raining. I am going to have quite a few weeks in the town (no locations, remember!) before the Crowners of the Light meeting. It’ll be nice to have some time to myself!
This afternoon, I saw human civilization for the first time in two days! You have no idea how happy that made me! Must keep going though. This is just short note so you can understand how important a thing it is to me! Good weather now. Typical.
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