Lianne, my Journal (1)

I woke, cold and confused. Why was I so cold, and rocking up and down? It slowly dawned on me; I was in the sea, clinging to a large piece of driftwood.. Ahead, against the skyline; I saw land; then the darkness took me again.
I woke on a shingle beach, with the sun rising. Some people were approaching, asking if I was alright. They spoke Manori, but with a strange dialect. They took me to the town, the man escorting me said he was the town mayor and that I was their guest. “Good”, I thought, “as I don’t have any money”. He asked who I was, I told him I was Lianne, of the Arkann tribe. He had never heard of my tribe; I told him of the lands to the north and the great ruined cities, now under a shroud of fear. He appeared never to have heard of them. He asked how I had got here; born with a wanderlust, I left the tribe and headed east. Travelling through the Pass of Noose, I wandered through the kingdom of Arcona until I ended up at Port Gethan. I took passage on a ship. I was asleep on the deck when a sound of cracking timbers jerked me awake. A tremendous shock struck the ship and I was hurled into the water. I grabbed a piece of floating wood, looking back I saw the ship breaking up. Something struck me on the head and I awoke on the beach.
The man shook his head slowly. “Dangerous things swim in these waters. The crew must not have known where they were”.
“So where am I?”
“The Islands of the Skull”, replied the mayor

I thought about this for a while, but then brightened up. “I have no coin to repay your hospitality. Tell me, are there adventures to be had round here?”
“Yes, but there is much danger. There are creatures in the lands around here, and the Kobolds demand a monthly tribute of 100 gold.”
“Tribute? You pay tribute to Kobolds!”
“These are not the Kobolds you are used to.”
He told me of a dungeon not far from the town, I asked if anyone would care to accompany me, but they all refused. “So, all of you big strong men are going to let a girl go it alone?”
“We tried to stand up to them once, but were defeated.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t with you then”.

I searched out the town store and negotiated the loan of some torches, flint and steel, a backpack and a comb (I’ve been in the water for hours, my hair’s an absolute mess). I checked my armour (studded leather) and my two-hand sword and knife; then set off into the forest. After some walking, I spied a clearing with steps leading down. Lighting a torch, I headed down. An empty hall with three doors, the left one eventually led to a room with some cells, two Kobolds and a shrieking baboon in a cage. One Kobold pulled a lever hanging from the ceiling and the cells opened to let loose four ravening jackals. I jammed the torch into a crack in the wall and, with the old ‘Scream and Leap’, waded into the jackals. Some time later, the jackals were all dead, but I had been badly bitten and a lucky blow from a Kobold knocked me out. I awoke in one of the cells; my sword was gone but I still had my knife.
…. To be continued