Stone Cold Sober

Chen uses the afternoon to peruse the market places to see what is on offer. Knowing that they'll spend the next few days, or even weeks, upon the ocean he's thought of some interesting kit that might help along the way.

Once his purchases are made, he stores them back at the lodgings offered by St Cuthbert before joining Mendez and Thesis. He gratefully accepts Mendez' offer of a drink, and reciprocates in kind, but no wine, mead, or beer pass his lips. Indeed, he remains the very image of sobriety amongst his raucous friends. At a respectful moment - before the party becomes too loud and brash - he retires back to his quarters to meditate and pack his bag for the upcoming adventure.

It was good to listen to Mendez again - as ever he is full of new and outlandish stories, many of which are enough to redden the monk's cheeks! He also realizes that he enjoys Thesis' company more than he expected. Though he finds Thesis' plan to stay with a 'woman of the night' somewhat distasteful, the warrior seems to be even bolder and just as selfless as the monk himself.

He pens another message home. He describes at length, and with disgust, at what another - less enlightened - monk can be capable of. He sees it as a stern warning that The Balance within his home monastery must be preserved, and states as much in clear ink. He smiles. He is becoming more confident, less meek, as he learns more of life. He writes down what he can recall of Harpies - viscious, evil flying women who sing so sweetly - and Basilisks - strange eight legged beasts which can turn flesh to stone in a glance.

He tries to describe the sensation of being petrified and realises that he can't! As a statue he saw nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing. He effectivly ceased to exist. Instead he describes the strange feeling of being returned to the land of the living. The strange creeping feeling of sensation returned; the slow re-awakening of one's mind as if from the deepest slumber; the bizarre cognition that no time had passed - that in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Durin and the Basilisk had been killed, Catidsis had dropped to the floor, and Thesis had been bloodied beyond recognition.

Feeling uncomfortable he turns his writing to more arcane matters. The helm that Catidsis wore, that Bodush had taken such an interest in. He describes it in detail, hoping that the monastery's library will shed some light on its purpose. He also mentions the gong that had sounded so loudly and confused his magical friends.

He ties the letter to the pigeon's leg and wishes it "All Gods' Speed".
He returns to the bed, where he falls somewhat uncomfortably asleep, one arm cradling his new belt that had somehow been neglected from his letter...