Reed's Journal

This is the personal journal of Reed Blackleaf
DO NOT READ!!!
This is not your journal. If you read this I will know and I will make you pay. This is between me and Sherman and sherman. NO ONE ELSE!! And if you dont think I can make you pay ask Geffory...oh thats right...no one has found his body! Just think about that before you turn to the next page.

To Sherman, the Hero the world needed most, and was lost
Sherman,
I figured I would start this journal by righting to the Hero of Liminal who inspired me to be more than just a halfling. To be a Great Hero in all the land. To find out what happened to Sherman. To find out what great sacrifice he made to save the world. His last entry that I have was so cryptic. It has a lot of numbers so I kind of skipped over all that but it seems they were successful in their escape from hell but were gonna have to fight in some sort of battle arena or something. I have no doubt Sherman probably took them all on himself. He was probably held back by his companions...especially since half of them seem evil....Im not really sure why Sherman spent so much time with them. They got him into more trouble then they helped him. Maybe Sherman felt like they would cause worse trouble if he didn't keep an eye on them! I bet that is it. Well good for him but I bet you 10 gold pieces (all I really have) that they are the reason Sherman disappeared. They are the reason Liminal fell!! If I was travelling with Sherman I would secretly kill all of them or at least poison them so Sherman could save the world properly! Boy, what a team we would be...Sherman and me, taking on the world...Best friends...I wish you was here now...

Entry 1 - Pre-greatness
I guess I should explain myself a bit to Sherman, so he can understand a bit about me. I'm not big and mighty like Sherman. I'm just a small weak little halfling. I can't wipe out tribe after tribe of those disgusting Kobold creatrues and still have the strength to take out a werewolf and a great big red Dragon!! I will never be able to do anything as great as that...without a little help. So I found some people who could help me. I won't go into detail as to HOW (or what) I did but I was able to get connections to a retired member of the theives guild. A near impossible feat in Lady's Rest I might tell you! This town is a place of healing, and charity. There's not even a proper Thieves Guild near! But luck would have it my master trainer was not just any old thief but a trained assassin. I think he calls himself holy slayer or something but an assassin is an assassin in my book.
I guess that is why I am writing all this. I could never do the things like Sherman unless I was more...sneaky. I can't blow away whole tribe, but some day I hope I could silently take them all out and slip into the shadows like a ghost. Its a lot more complex than that of course...I mean its not like I would kill for no good reason. I like to think I kill for the betterment of Liminal. Actually my trainer has pounded that into my head over and over. He wouldn't even let me kill a rabbit until I had followed it, seen its life, its family, where it lives and feeds, and THEN how its death affected all the living things around it. I'm sure these things were easy to see for Sherman. I mean he creating great new species and experiments to make the world a better place. I wish I had his wisdom. Ah well, I'll just do the best I can.
On a sidenote, I've decided to name my little mouse friend Sherman in honor of you, Sherman. He's been with me since I was little and probably knows the stories of you better than me!

Entry -- Hell Island
What. The. Hell. I wake up in a cell...no idea where I am at with a huge half-orc! Last thing I remember was leaving Lady's rest for the last time to really start my search for the great Sherman and the next thing I know I'm here and in nothing but my underclothes. I'm glad I wore my good undershirt and pants for my adventure! At first I panicked thinking Sherman was gone too but he was hiding in the bed straw. The half-Orc introduced himself as Throg and asking all sorts of questions. It seems the same thing happened to him...he just woke up here with no memories how he got here. He even started talking to Sherman!! I am so freaking jealous. I have always thought me and Sherman talk really well but to actually get some feedback from the little guy, maybe get to know him even better...I mean he IS my best friend...
Anyway no one knew anything. Even the weird guys in the other cells. There was two Humans guys (Vasoovi-something? and um...Zryan?...I think he was the darker haired smaller one), a lady Elf (Aster?), a brawny Human-ish lady but something is different about her (Cassia?), and of course Throg the half-orc in my cell. Well he is not just a half-orc...he magically changed into a badger and ran around trying to help others out of their cells and getting me a nail so I could pick the lock on mine.
Fuck us all to the deepest hell a tentically creepy monster comes in again. (He in earlier to feed us slop and talk to our minds). So I um...well panick a little and stupidly rush him with nothing but a chain. I miss, but escaped to the outer room... it really was an amateur mistake but I do gather up some pottery bits to use in case I need to throw something. First rule...never be unarmed or unprepared. So this guy vanishes and then um...I think we break through the next door and then some other guys show up and destroy these mutated humanish things on there side with this other tentically creepy monster....one of them is this Elf guy but super dark skinned...and a Dwarf...Illde-something and Gal-something.
Man there are so many new names in my head. This sucks...
Oh and a wild looking man...I think he said his name was Salvester...which is crazy because Sherman traveled with a Salvester...who was a wolf-man shifter and a drunken slob. It couldn't possibly be the same guy...I mean that was forever ago. They give the others some weapons and armor. I was hiding at the time not sure if any of these guys are good or bad. First rule of adventuring...trust no one...well except many Throg. So I steal some daggers just to keep myself safe and follow them all out. There is like a war going on out here with some of the nastiest, weirdest, mind-twisting creatures I have ever seen! We get shoved on a boat and as we travel across the water we get attacked by this brain-tentically-flying thing. I wonder if this is the Grell things that Ophelia told stories about. She said Sherman slayed many of them on his adventures...also that they are mind-rapey. Well we killed this one alright. I got in a few good hits. Its a start. I mean Sherman probably would have blasted it from the sky before it even reached the boat but its a start for me.
We reach the shore and find the portal out of the city is gone and we have to escape the city the hard way. For now though we are safe. I guess these are my companions now. Sherman's adventures seemed so organized and planned out and neat even when he was surrounded by shit (Literally). This just seems...terrifying, confusing, so...well far away from everything I know. Except Sherman of course.

Entry -- The Arena of DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
So we start talking about what we are going to do...it seems like I know more about the history of this town than anyone. Seriously, even the magic stuff. Its crazy. We go down a list of different places we know and really focus in on the Arena and Phoenix Tower. So we sneak to the Arena and I am like freaking out. I am almost positive this is where Sherman fought and became famous. Unfortunately I never got his notes on that battle but I remember something about the cheers of the Arena ringing around all of Liminal. I can hear them now chanting the name of the great Sherman as I sit here in this old viewing box overlooking the dark space. Talking with the others it seems we are all connected some how. Throg is related to Grok who traveled with Sherman. The Elf is Lady Astra who is like the daughter of the elf thief who traveled with Sherman. The fairer haired human Sir Vesuvious seems like he is connected to Sir Hippy that provided the Mansion for Sherman. The brawny girl human Cassea was really trying to not talk about it but she seems connected to Zethas the evil evil EVIL companion of Shermans. It really truly seems like everyone was brought here because of Sherman! Well except the Bard. He was super dodgy about it but I am guessing he is connected to Ruhe the demon with part of a soul.
Well we searched and searched the place. We found water...a few potential shelters (I helped with that) and in the lower areas a creppy old mutant. I didn't tell the others at the time but it was Tomar Adus this old old old champion fighter from back in the day. I have no idea why he is still alive but we um...well solved that.
We left him alone at first (We would have been able to sneak up but...these clods are so fucking loud sometimes. Yes lets bump into ever freaking chain as we sneak up on the killer mutant!!!) but then he attacked us after we found an armoury. Im not sure it was fully him any more because his spine came out of his back and attacked us! That can't be healthy. I felt really really proud of how I fought today. I used many of the techniques my master taught me and got a good two or three stabs on him. It would have been better if I just assassinated him when we first met him but we didn't know he was crazy yet and...well my companions ruined that anyway. We found lots of loot but it is killing me we have to split it up. I wish we could take it all with us and store it away. I mean I have taken some gold in my day but there is like thousands of coins here!!