Banob's Journal wrote:My name is Banob Brin, and I am a halfling from the city of Waterdeep. I have endured and survived many adventures as my companions and I traveled across the lands of Faerun, but none of that prepared me for the day that the Mists came and took me away…
While it has been more than fifty years since that fateful day, I still remember a great deal of what had happened. It started with a moonlit night as I was walking down the streets. The night had been unusually cold for that time of summer, and the rising fog from the alleys didn’t surprise me too much. With such a change in weather, one comes to expect such things. However, I did not expect to get lost in the grey void. When I finally managed to find my way out, I was in the middle of a dark forest and no city in sight.
It didn’t take long for trouble to find me, as a group of bandits attacked me. They were not very skillful, and I would have easily escaped unharmed if not for their weapons; pistols. After a long struggle, I managed to wound them and escape with one of these weapons. Unfortunately, a stray bullet from their guns wounded my leg. Needless to say, I needed food, rest, and a safe place to hide.
I’ve never been a religious fellow, but my prayers had been answered in the deliverance of a small village and its quaint tavern; the Malodorous Goat. I stopped for some dumplings, but I ended up with a dead elf and two companions. As is my luck, the poison that killed the elf had been in my food as well. I survived the foul taint, but my travel companions had already left me behind.
As I made my way west, a most unpleasant man captured and tortured me. This Malocchio Aderre, who was no friend of my previous companions, figured that I would make a nice ransom. From what I could make out between my screams (I still bare several scars from those endless days and nights), Aderre was concerned about an invasion of mind flayers. Cole Deschain and Charonne Willowbrook were supposed to be his insurance that Invidia helped prevent such an attack…but this was all a lie. Malocchio Aderre had no intention to stop the attack. Instead, he wanted to ally himself with the mind flayers and conquer the world.
Sadly, I learned no more of this plan for he sent me away. Broken and bleeding, I was carted to a land known as Richemulot. A lovely and charming lady named Jacqueline Renier treated my wounds. This lady, however, was no lady. She was actually a wererat, who was only interested in healing me so that she could learn of Aderre’s plans. Fortunately for me, Malocchio had laid a powerful upon my flesh. As I tried to escape and the wererats tore at my flesh, the subtle incantation cursed them to die a slow and painful death. I later learned that Malocchio Aderre intended this trap in order to accelerate his conquering of Richemulot.
As I fled through the uncivilized forests, I grew weary from my wounds. It was there that a Falkovian soldier caught me. Seeing my wounds and hearing me speak in my sleep, he decided to take me to his commander, Vlad Drakov. This tyrant was no better a host than Malocchio Aderre or Jacqueline Renier. My only benefit was this madman was too busy impaling supposed enemies to bother with me…
Looking up from his book, the curly haired halfling stifles a yawn. Placing the quill into the ink well, he lets the last of his writing dry before closing the book. “The rest will have to wait until another day.”
As Banob rises from his makeshift desk and chair, he carefully picks up the sputtering candle. He looks about his cave with a sad frown and move over to a large bed of straw.
“Another day and another adventure,” he says tiredly and blows the candle out.