Hiltre

The Zeppelond flew us over the dreaded Shadow swamp and landed in the ancient keep of Helterhem on Mount Hiltre, east of Ranz. The Gombas are among the first noble families on Paratorna. Klamender has several siblings, and together, the family is decidedly strange. The brother Angantrym is Ranzine monk, and spent the whole time I was there staring at a wall in the great hall. At one point, the kitchen wench held a mirror to his face to see if he still lived, and later, the servants used him to hang laundry too dry. He still didn't flinch.

The sister, Linvina, wore a purple wig that looked like a shrubbery on her head. Baldyr said she lusted for me, but she never spoke to me about it. Apparently. she tried to woe me instead using spells and potions. The brother Trimbolt was much more talkative, a ravaging knight of Barbosk ferocity. Every morning, he rolled great rocks down to the village below the keep, to "keep the farmers on their toes, with hats in hand".

The dinner consisted of wired wraps with a black crust and creamy, smelly inside. Too late, I realized that these were fried crow horseflies, collected from the Shadow Marshes...