Grimey - Familiar Faces

Good day at the quarry today bashing the rock apart. Grabbed me some nice fist-sized chunks of marble to take home and carve up for Clyde. Them rocks are perfect for my specialty. I’ll carve those figures Clyde was telling me about and get them all polished for the lad. He’ll like that for some ore. I need the ore to make some more hatchets.

After unloading the rocks at my cabin I headed to the pub at the center of town. Lo’ an’ behold Leo was there. Leo's one of the few sea-travelers. He comes from Southern Island, which is southwest from here. All the time he's spent on the water has colored his skin several shades darker. He stands at about shoulder-height to me. Long black hair, darker features than most. Good man that one. Comes around here during his travels to share some stories and do a little trading. Leo is, how would you say, very clear-spoken. When he wants to make a point he can get just about anybody to understand him no matter how many drinks have been flowing.

Leo was dressed in black. He had on a light linen shirt and heavy pants. Hearty looking boots on his feet told me he was set for traveling. A dagger in a black sheath with silver patterns that looked like winding vines was strapped to his belt. Lad was prepared for a rough road. Leo rarely shows off his weapons.

At the corner of the pub sat Leo's quiet companion, as always. That guy usually just sits alone with his drink. Large, muscular guy with dark features like Leo but short hair. Nobody bothers him. Besides, he don’t talk much so we get our stories from Leo.

I gave Leo a frosty pint and listened to his latest story. He and his large friend heard that banshee numbers have been rising around here so they sailed from Southern Island for a hunt. They've been in the nearby southern woods, probably close to Woodlawn Village. Apparently the two hunters spent a few days taking out an entire swarm of banshees. Impressive, but too bad they didn't track them to the eastern woods where the main population of banshees are. But hey, less monsters is always better.

Two things always strike me about Leo. First, he's very clean, which is very uncommon for these parts. His hair is kept straight and tied back and his skin doesn't have any dirt stains. Second, he has strange markings on him. Looks like he put black paint on his skin that never washes off. Makes me think he's trying to give himself fake scars. One of his fake scars runs along his left arm. It comes down from his sleeve and is curved like a blade with the point ending on at his wrist just below his thumb. There’s another one that comes up from his neck and curves along his face and ends at a point just below his right eye. He probably has more paintings but those are the only ones I’ve seen. And I bet his buddy has a few as well.

Leo and his friend came to Quarry to relax for the night before they head back to Southern Island tomorrow. Leo says it takes two days to make the trip. Not a bad hike if ya ask me.

Grimey - A Deadling Lesson

Went to go check on Scully. He's all right. Ankles are healing up well enough from his run-in with a pack of Deadlings the other day. Young lad tried to do McGrady a favor by going after some monsters on his own but got himself into trouble. Luckily I found him before things got serious. He got away with only a few cuts, nothing too deep. I decided to tell him a little story about them furry bastards.

Ya see, in my younger days my sister and I were going through the woods. We saw a Deadling and it gave Tessy them big 'ole eyes all cute-like. It looked friendly enough so she pet the critter. As soon as she got close it snapped and started scratching at her. It took some fight for me to get the bastard off of her. We both got scratched up pretty good. Good thing it was only the one Deadling. A pack would’ve killed us, we were just kids.

That's when it occurred to me. Them little Deadlings reel you in to attack you. They seem domesticated and if you've never seen one it’s easy to be fooled. They're deceiving things. If one of them gets a hold it's only a few minutes before others come along and join in. And watch out for the grown ones. They're not small and cute no more. They're chest-high on all fours with saggy, shaggy hair and breath rancid enough to melt your eyes. Grown Deadlings don't even try to lure their victims in, they just attack. Luckily the big ones aren't too quick so if you move better than a statue you'll be able to get away, otherwise it's good to have a large and sharp blade. Well, I prefer having a blade regardless but that's beside the point.

The point I was trying to get across to Scully was don't trust anything in the woods. I'm sure after the attack the lesson will stay with him. But I made a mistake. He asked about my sister and if fighting off that Deadling is how I got the scar across my eye. He asked what happened to Tessy because he's never seen her around, ever. I just told Scully, “my sis ain't around no more and the scar is another story. Just be careful in the woods. And don't trust anything out there.”

Grimey - Saving Scully

McGrady came knocking this afternoon. He's a middle aged fella that's graying on top. Usually wears some raggedy dirt-stained denim outfit like he had on today. Lad works hard keeping up his ranch that extends from his house to the edge of the wood. It's just large enough sustain himself and market to some locals. He's got crops and some livestock, very simple.

Anyways, today the bags under McGrady's eyes were especially deep because the banshees have been giving him hell the past few weeks. Scully offered to help him out earlier. McGrady told me that the young hunter ventured into the woods and he's been gone ever since. I figured I'd go find him before he gets himself killed. After talking more with McGrady I learned that both Banshees and Deadlings have been attacking his ranch. Deadlings...damn furry critters.

Scully's a good tracker so I knew he'd be able to follow the small Deadling tracks from the ranch into the woods. Once McGrady left my cabin, I grabbed my axes and headed out. Didn't take long to find Scully. A little ways into the wood and I heard a commotion. I followed the noise and found a tall lanky lad flailing around, his long braided brown hair whipping around, with a crowd of critters surrounding him. Deadlings were at Scully's feet and they were trying to bring him down.

If you've never seen a Deadling they're cute as hell. Large ears, beady glossy eyes, fluffy fur, and their barks sound like friendly squeeky whimpers. Ya see, the damn ankle biters play friendly and when you let your guard down they bite. There's some sharp little teeth hiding behind those friendly whimpers. They're small things too so their bites are pretty damn irritating. One Deadling's a nuisance but if enough of them gather they can topple you over and bite the rest of ya. That's when they can take you apart.

Scully had Deadlings nipping at his heels and knees and he was losing his balance. His club and short blade just weren't doing the trick. I let a hatchet fly and took out a couple critters. I grabbed Scully and yanked him out of the deadly fur-ball. Then those fluffy ankle-biters came after me. It was axe time! A few swings sent the buggers running and left about a dozen dead.

Turns out Scully didn't kill any Deadlings, in fact he didn't even know what they were. He was following some tracks until he came across one. Thought it was so cute he went to pet it. And then it bit. Next thing, a whole flock was attacking him. Damn fool! Gotta know the monsters you're gonna be dealing with before ya go chasing after 'em. At the very least don't go petting things in the wild.

Grimey - Hunting Parties, Hah!

Finished work at the quarry. Some large stones we cut the other day needed moving so I got to be a mover. Hard work, but at least I got to take a few chunks of marble home. Really good stuff to work with. I even got to kill me a banshee while working on the mountain. Nailed the sucker with a throwing hatchet, which reminds me I’ll need some new hatchets soon.

Went to the pub at the center of town earlier tonight. Nothing better than kicking back a few after a day in the rock. Clyde was there, “ah there’s the Scot!” he said. He's the only lad who uses my real name. Clyde is one of Quarry's hunters and he's a trader. Travels around buying and selling, brings back some interesting things from time to time. I was glad to see him because he’s where I get the metal for my axes. There aren't any metals around our little town here so Clyde brings back ore when he travels. Supplies the blacksmith along with myself. I prefer to hammer out my own weapons instead of using the blacksmith. Clyde said he’d trade me some ore for some of my stonework. Not a problem!

Clyde mentioned some people he met on a recent trading trip that formed a hunting party. Basically they've chosen to dedicate all their time to hunting. I don't know about hunting parties. They leave their towns to go track down whatever beasts they can find in the wild. Not something I'm really interested in. You leave your town and then there's fewer hunters to defend your home. I’d rather watch out for my own home and folk than go wandering hills and woods. Besides, I belong in the mountain rocks. Clyde says the lads in this hunting party think they can actually rid the world of beasts. Hah! Wishful thinking, I say. The monsters always come back…always.

Speaking of, lately the banshees in the nearby woods have been getting more aggressive. They've been attacking more often, trying to take out the cattle like at McGrady's farm the other day. Them flying nuisances been stepping it up because they usually go for farm crops. Whenever they come by I'll kill a few and scare off the rest but they've been coming back every other day now. I'll be keeping an eye on the eastern woods. Hopefully it's only their aggression that has increased, not their numbers.

Late into the night Scully showed up at the pub, Quarry's youngest and newest hunter. Well, hunter in training I should say. He was asking about going on a solo raid in the woods. Advised the lad to think twice about that one. There's more than just Banshees in the woods. Scully hasn't done much more than help out with a few Banshee attacks. An ambitious lad that one, hungry to learn how to take out monsters. He'll be a fine hunter one day just as long as he don't get himself killed first.

Grimey - Good Morning

You know it’s going to be a busy day when the first thing you hear is a screaming cow. Them banshees were attacking again. Damn fliers are always a bother at dawn.  I scraped myself out of bed, and stretched to get the blood flowing. I took a moment to listen. I could hear the high-pitched cry that I never would’ve guessed a cow to make along with the flapping of wings. I knew I had to get out there soon.

I walked out of my bedroom and passed through the kitchen area. There’ll be time to eat later. I went straight to my workroom, a large open area where I keep my anvil, hammers, and axes, along with a variety of other things. I sometimes call this room the armory. I grabbed a belt laced with hatchets along with my battle axe that was mounted on the wall and headed outside. Sure enough, a swarm of banshees were circling the pastures across the way hassling the McGrady’s cattle.

I broke into a steady jog and made my way toward the swarm. The banshees, with their thin dark purple leathery skin, almost glowed in the dawning sunlight. Some people find the effect a bit eerie but I think it just makes them easier targets to hit. They like to fly into farmlands and pastures to steal crops and livestock. Banshees aren’t very big. They’re the size of an overgrown owl but with long narrow necks and heads. They got sharp claws and fangs but they’re not all that strong so they need to attack in swarms. Timid things, they scare easily.

Three banshees swarmed around a single cow. The fliers were clawing at it and I could see a trickle of red along the cow’s side. I hopped the fence into McGrady’s pasture and threw a hatched at the banshee on top of the cows back. Nailed the bastard right before he took a bite. The other two banshees scattered. I let a few more hatchets fly and took out two more before the whole swarm scattered away.

These little fliers are more a nuisance than anything. Never do much harm either, except for stealing crops and waking me up from bed. Although for small farms like McGrady’s, who needs every crop and animal to get by, banshee swarms can be a problem. Good thing I live nearby.

I made my way back to my cabin, thought about lying back down in bed but reconsidered. The sun had already risen and there’s a lot of work to be done at the quarry. It’s best to get started there before the sun rises too high. Besides, hunting makes me hungry and it’s time for breakfast.