This journal was found in the northern wastes of the UnReal World, kept and lost by a valiant man known as Magnus Koivulainen. Listen now to his deeds...
*******************************************************************
01-Jun Year 16
I begin my journey into the northlands, my eyes bright as the day dawns. What lay behind me matters not now; the north is my destiny.
I have brought my longbow “Companion”, and my mail legs. I have only enough fish and bread to last a week… but Companion has seventeen sleek arrows for the hunt. I shall not want long for food.
I greet the guardians of the north, and ask that they bless my passage…
I take but a step and notice that my knife, steadfast vakipuuto, has gone missing from my belt. The guardians, it seems, ask tribute for their favor.
Granted merrily; and merrily I sing praises for them as I walk, certain that my path is now clear before me.
I find a wide lake, and must go around. Walking eastward around the lake I find a village.
Perhaps I will replace my knife…
The Village of Ohtojarvi is large and populous. I have met a ruddy-faced man named Apro who would trade a fine mail cowl, but he drives a hard bargain. I will not trade Companion, though he eyes it with a smile.
I will make torches, a good commodity, until I cannot stay awake, and make more when I rise if I must. He will trade for them tomorrow, I am certain.
02-Jun Year 16
I have stayed up all night to make torches. Apro had thought to steer me to trade Companion, but I will not. At last he has agreed upon 13 torches, and an extra pair of laced shoes I had in my pack, for the cowl.
It matches my legs well. I will look for a knife after I get some sleep…
03-Jun Year 16
I have searched the entire village for a knife; there are none for trade. But I have found a nice cooking pot, and some soft wool underclothing that fits well. It is evening now, and I find time to catch up on some sleep in a nearby meadow.
04-Jun Year 16
This day I will hunt; may the Guardians of the Hunt bless my arrows, as I leave Ohtojarvi.
Praise the Guardians of the Hunt! I am blessed with a family of beavers! Though swiftly they ran as the first of their number fell, Companion took two more, swifter still!
I have found a small pond to tan the skins at, and fell a supple pine tree upon its bank to roast the meat. Beaver makes an adequate meal, if cooked properly.
I will camp by this pond for tonight. Perhaps I will hunt more in the morning.
05-Jun Year 16
Tomorrow my skins will be tanned. I gather branches and cut some small trees, and make a torch for trade. Suddenly I am very tired – I am no longer a young man, after all. I make a bed of dry grass and settle in to sleep.
06-Jun Year 16
In the morning I am awakened by the sound of heavy footsteps. I quickly hide.
Sneaking forward, I see there is no cause for alarm – a group of foreign tradesmen are setting up camp nearby. I disarm myself and approach, showing them my empty hands.
I marvel at the things the southerners bring to trade… but my three poorly-cut, small beaver hides do not please them. I must hunt more.
All evening I hunted and found no game. There will be no trades. The tradesmen will be moving on to other places in the morning. I make camp for the night, bitter for my luck.
07-Jun Year 16
All day I hunt again. A hare darts out from a bush – too swiftly for Companion. No game today. I give up the hunt for now, to travel again.
I head west along the banks of this truly huge lake, and upon evening, find another village.
Alkusalo is a small fishing town. I have found a sturdy new axe with a sharp edge at the market, but again, no knife.
I will move on from this place tomorrow. For the night I have been gratefully given leave to stay in one of the empty cabins of the village. The bed is comfortable, and the fire is warm in the stove. I pray the Guardians bless the people of Alkusalo for their unbidden generosity.
But the sounds of the city keep me restless. The dogs bark, and the children shout. I will move on tomorrow. Maybe I will make my own cabin one day, in the forests of the northlands…
08-Jun Year 16
The bed is too comfortable – I sleep past midday! As I stir, a dog startles me, barking at the door. I throw my shoe at it, and it leaves me to get ready for the day.
After a short breakfast, I leave the people of Alkusalo with many blessings. They ask if I would stay the night again, since the sun is already in the west, but I tell them my destiny lies in lands further north, even this night. And with that, they bid me farewell, and I follow the banks of the lake to the west.
The sun is fading, and still I am not tired, when I come across a lean-to near the shore. Someone had been hunting here until very recently. I smell the air and look at the sky… I feel the pressure. Rain comes soon. I will camp here tonight.
I greet the Guardians of the Wood as I gather branches and young trunks for the fire, and for the torches I will make to pass the time.
I light the fire, and sing an old song as I carve…
The night is long and I am tired and hungry. My hands ache, but I have seven fine torches for it. After a brief bite to eat, and a drink from the lake, I will sleep.
09-Jun Year 16
Again I awaken in the afternoon. There is nothing else for it – I gather wood for another stay. This place is comfortable to me, yet I must move on tomorrow. To the north lies my fate.
It did not rain today, as promised. I was hoping for a good bath.
I light the fire and make a couple torches, then lay down to sleep again.
10-Jun Year 16
I rise at early morning, eat some roast salmon and have a drink of water, and then have a swim.
I thank the Guardians for the peace they have lent me during my stay, and I leave a torch and several extra branches inside the lean-to, with my blessing, before leaving.
I head west along the shoreline. It is not long until the banks curve northward again, then eastward. I follow the water to a large peninsula that juts out into it, where I find another village…
Mustaneimi is a prosperous fishing and trade town, with an arms store, a bakery, and two fishing stores in direct competition. At last I have found a sturdy broad knife! Praise the Guardians!
I found a sturdy punt, so there will be no more walking around lakes. I also found a fishing pole, as I have grown fond of fish – it keeps long.
It is evening now, and I will sleep in the grass…
11-Jun Year 16
It is morning, and I awaken to another bright day. I bid the people of Mustaneimi farewell after breakfast, as I continue east. It is afternoon when I turn to follow my destiny in the north once again.
I have not journeyed far when I come across signs of a beast that cannot be mistaken: scorch-marks on random trees and bushes, along a trampled path.
A Njerpez firestarter; curse the name. Companion almost quivers with delight at this news.
Suddenly a snake darts across the trail! I wield Companion and loose an arrow – the snake is wounded! I chase after it, wielding another arrow as I run, as it darts under a rock. I kick the stone over… only to find a hole in the ground, and no snake. Fate has its way again.
I find the Njerpez trail again, and follow it…
I hear dark laughter in the trees ahead. I hide in the bushes and stealthily approach. I smell him first, and then I see him: matted black hair; filthy rags and unmatched armor; a short sword in one hand, and a lit torch in the other; jovially burning a small tree, just to watch the flames.
There may be a village in this region – I cannot suffer this accursed animal to live.
Companion sings as the first of my arrows pierce the Njerpez’s left forearm! He drops his shortsword, and roars at me as the second arrow scores his right thigh. I fall back behind a clump of trees, as the savage approaches, enraged; swearing at me in the foulest words of his tongue.
I make my way around the east side of the thicket to where my first arrow met him, and take his sword from the ground, tucking it in my belt. I hear the Njerpez crashing through the underbrush on the other side of the trees. I ready an arrow, and steal forward, following his path around the west side of the thicket, my footfalls completely muted by his shouting. He breathes deep and gives one final scream of rage into the trees to the south.
I grow still…
And he turns around, not two strides away, and falls with my arrow through his eye…
This is no man by my marking. Nearly covered with hair; brutish features; teeth stained with the blood of raw meat. A monster, this is. Like a wild dog, who would take children and cattle, rather than the deer of the woods, this creature had to be ended. I pray that the Guardians of Life lay to rest whatever spirit this savage may have had.
On the Njerpez’s belt I find hung an axe and a war hammer, as well as a primitive stone axe, and a small bag of fresh hare meat – he must have been a warrior, and a hunter of his kind. I thank Companion for his swift death. All Njerpez are vicious, and this one might have been a chief among them.
I take all of his clothes and armor, and wash them in a nearby stream. It takes a very, very long time to get the smell and grime out, but I now have a clean new cloak, and a fine ring helm that was partly damaged by my arrow. Waste not; want not, my mother used to say.
I turn north, to continue my journey under the afternoon sun.
It is night before I make my camp. I fall a tree for burning – the smoke is sweet. Perhaps in the morning I will roast my hare cuts on this wood.
I have come far north in only eleven days, but still the lands stretch before me, and the stars of the great white bear shine above me.
My destiny lies in those lands, under those stars…
12-Jun Year 16
I awaken at late morning to my fire, still burning. I stretch, and set to roasting the hare meat. It is a bit dry, but it will suffice.
It is noon now, and my legs feel ripe for walking. I head out, into the wild north…
Suddenly I hear the roar of a beast, and the sounds of a man screaming! Instantly Companion is in my hand, with arrow notched. The man’s cries suddenly stop, as I silently move forward…
There he lies dead on the ground, at the teeth of a huge grey wolf.
I take aim… and miss! I duck out of sight and notch another arrow. I carefully look back and see the wolf noticed nothing.
I let fly another arrow… another miss! Companion, do not desert me at my time of need! I hide behind another tree to ready another arrow, and pray to the Guardians of the Hunt.
I step out to fire… And there is the wolf! He has beaten me at the game! He bites at my leg, and is daunted by my mail leggings, and in my excitement I only wound him at close range.
The wolf starts to run at the sting of my arrows that repeatedly wound him as I chase him, but fail to bring him down. At last, there is no hope of catching him, so I abandon the hunt.
Perhaps we will meet again, wolf. Companion has yet eight arrows for the hunt…
I walk back to the man lying prone on the ground. There is a lot of blood and no life in his eyes. I close them and pray to the Guardians of Life. He was young… a sad death.
I bury him under a tree, and take some of his things with me, thanking and blessing him for them. I leave the stone axe of the Njerpez, along with the rest of his possessions, upon his grave as a gift. I clean his clothing in a stream, make some bandages from it, and ready to depart this place in peace, so that the poor hunter’s spirit may rest.
I travel north for another hour, and then make camp as the sun begins to set, throwing fire into the clouds. It is beautiful.
I have many things to trade now… I can leave torch-work alone for a while. Maybe tomorrow I will find a village. But for now I sleep, with the vivid reds, pinks, oranges and yellows of the sunset to color my dreams…
13-Jun Year 16
I rise at morning and eat breakfast. Wanting to delay no further, I trudge off again, into the north...
The day is uneventful. I travel all day into the north, and find no game, nor people. The birds are even quiet. The silence is eerie. I build the fire high this evening, and ask the Guardians to watch over me as I sleep…
*******************************************************************
Only these words, and the author's signature inside the front cover, remain as testament to a remarkable life. What really happened to Magnus Koivulainen?
Perhaps only the Guardians know...
EDIT: Please feel free to question or comment. :)
Nice story, Grats!
I only wish I could write good english, for now I've written a lil story in Finnish, of my Slavy character. And slavy died couple of weeks ago, so now I'm planning to create a new char, son of Slavy (Slavy had many women in his arms ;) )... And I'll try to make that story as "RPG" as possible... but we will see what happens
Once again, nice story, nice idea