Franz Lohner’s Chronicle – A Slaying We Will Go

An absent-minded man of mysteries, Franz Lohner relies on his bulging journal to keep track of occurrences, intrigues and arguments around Taal's Horn Keep. Sometimes his notes are even useful, believe it or not. The Franz Lohner Chronicles are extracts from that journal.

It’s another glorious day hereabouts, and this time I actually mean it. No squabbling – well, no notable squabbling ­– a bit of peace and quiet from the Pactsworn, and even the sun is shining. Makes a body glad to be alive, it does.

Of course, this is all tempered by the knowledge that it’s not going to last. Peace never does. In fact, sometimes I wonder if this world was created for the express purpose of us all battering at each other with whatever comes to hand. The gods are a funny lot, and it ain’t as though the Dark Gods from oop north are the only ones with a peculiar sense of humour. Never known a Priest of Morr who doesn’t have a strange way of looking at the world, and you can bet that’s handed down from their deity. They’ve a peculiar sense of interior decorating as well. If you’ve ever seen the interior of a chapel to Morr, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Skulls and roses everywhere. And the poetry? Well, let’s not go into poetry. Always a sore topic around here.

As an added bonus, turns out that Okri’s well chuffed about the Five’s progress with his Grudge Marks. I can understand why. A grudge can only fester so long before it turns nasty, and with times as hard as they are, there’s no end of dawi families been wiped out with their grievances unsettled.

While yon burdens technically fall on the hold, most dwarf holds ain’t what they used to be either, so having a few subcontractors doesn’t exactly hurt, especially as our lot have been known as  Bardin’s drengbarazi – his slayerbound – for some time now. A dwarf doesn’t bestow such a title lightly, and word’s got around. Bound to have been a few raised eyebrows at there being an elf among their number, but dwarfs are dwarfs. Raised eyebrows and muttering disdainfully into their beards about newfangled mores is part of what gives them energy.

As it happens, ‘drengbarazi’ is more an honorific than an actual commitment to the slayer lifestyle, and a damn good thing too if you ask me. I can do without all that nakedness and orange hair dye around the keep, thank you very much. And as for the tattoos? Well, if you knew what slayers put in that ink you’d never sleep another night in your whole existence.

But I’m getting distracted. Short version (hah!) is that I’m glad the Five are easing a few burdens by settling these here grudges. Joking aside, the dwarfs have always been good friends to the haler end of humankind, and it’s good to be paying back our debts. As for Kerillian, she’s got plenty of her own to atone for, so you’re not going to hear me arguing if she wants to pitch in.