Antaran's Journal

Bell tower. Rude awakening, right in the middle of a mysterious dream about a fog and ghosts and me not knowing where to run. I got my clothes, told Carana, who was still sleeping tightly, to stand up. She woke up instantly with a scream, with eyes wide open, literally jumping out of the bed, hitting me in the face with her right fist and as she was about to break my neck, her eyes changed and she fell into my arms - unconscious. I had to put her back into bed.
I went outside and heard the marching sound of the children going into the teaching house. Tartek and Sereliaen have already been waiting for me.
Suddenly we heard a loud roar coming from the entrance of Namtolan. A bear. And the moment I saw it, I was sure it was the same bear that had attacked us at the cottage.
The two guards were helpless. One attacked the bear with his spear, missed and got knocked out by paws as big as his head. The second guard tried to help his friend. He sunk his spear deep into the right side of the bear. The hungry animal roared so loudly that I felt it in my bones. It knocked the second guard out, just like the first one.
The bear approached the children, who screamed for help and started running away.
We were still stunned because of the surprise. Though Tartek quickly foresaw the bear's intentions and ran towards the children.
He came too late.
Blood got spilled when the first young boy's body got brutally hit by the bear's claws. Then, obviously driven by the pain the wound of the spear must have caused, it blindly raged through the crying children.
Tartek finally reached the bear. He used the opportunity of the bear's distraction and quickly punched it on its head from the side, three or four times. Even at distance I saw that Tartek must have used every strength he could get out of his muscles.
Sereliaen and I were still standing there, stunned by fear. I finally got a hold of myself and ran to where the fighting took place to take care of the children while Tartek was fending off the already weak animal.
I will never forget what I saw then... It was horrible.
Two children were dead. I don't want to even try to explain why I was so sure about their death. Another three children were injured and lying on the ground, not moving much. The others were all able to get inside the teaching house.
The priests who were always meditating there in the morning arrived at the scenery. Five of them helped Tartek fight the bear, the others ran to me and the children. Two turned away and threw up when they saw the dead, torn bodies. Two of the others ripped a piece of cloth off their robes to cover the dead. The rest came to aid the injured ones.
The bear sighed, tried to roar one last time and finally fell.
Carana suddenly appeared behind me. I looked at her and saw her eyes gazing at the two covered bodies on the ground and the blood drops around them. Then she noticed the dead bear a few feet away. I saw a tear running down her cheek.

We were sent back to our rooms by the priests and told to stay there until someone came and picked us up. We went to bed again, didn't know what else to do and I was still tired anyway, so I slept until afternoon - which was a mistake, because too much of sleep normally causes headaches, and now I had yet another reason to believe that.

The high priest Vetar requested our presence. Tartek came and told us that Sereliaen wanted to stay in bed because she wasn't feeling well. When we were sitting in Vetar's room, he thanked Tartek for fighting the bear and thus avoiding more injuries.
"The little story you told me on the first day, I remember you mentioned Insomida, is that correct?" Vetar folded his arms.
"Yes, sir," Tartek said, even though he hadn't told the "story". I nodded as well, but it seemed Vetar was only watching Tartek anyway.
"You see, one of the kids that have been injured today actually comes from Insomida," the high priest continued.
I already knew where this discussion was headed.
"So, I ask you, do you know the way back to Insomida?" Vetar asked.
"Yes," Carana answered quickly. Tartek looked at her, frowning.
"We have to bring this child back to Insomida," Vetar insisted.
"Why us?" Tartek asked. "Why don't you just send ten of your priests?"
"Because they belong here. We can't spare anyone, not if they would be absent for so long. A journey to Insomida and back to Namtolan takes about two or three weeks," the priest answered.
"So, where are the relatives of this kid? Someone who actually cares-" Tartek said, and I kicked his left shin and threw an angry look at him. He shrugged and just shook his head.
"You can count on us," Carana said. "Who is this kid we are talking about here?"
Vetar hesitated, looked at Tartek, me and then at Carana again, smiling. "Clira Devon."
The girl from yesterday, I thought... But that wasn't all.
Tartek bristled with anger. "We can't go back to Insomida. If you had listened to our story, you would understand. Just by thinking of visiting Insomida again, it gives me the creeps. I don't want to end up like the two dead children to-" I hit him again on his shin, harder this time.
"Let's say your story is in fact true, and you are really former citizens of Insomida - then it would be a very honorable deed if you brought the girl back to her... " He made a short break, as if to search for the right words.
"Family?" I said.
"Royal family," Vetar mumbled.
"Royal family? I didn't know we had a royal family in Insomida who is called Devon," Carana said.
Vetar sighed. "It's not her real name, it's just a cover. The little girl that has been injured today is the Princess of Insomida."
I think Tartek, Carana and I gasped for breath at the same time, even though I somehow already knew it.
Tartek nearly exploded. "What?" he yelled. "Do you know what will happen to us if we bring the injured Princess of Insomida to her father? They're going to think that we hit her, or even raped her and treated her like -" He saw me rising my right foot, ready to hit him again, so he stopped talking.
"We will give you a signed message that will take care of everything," Vetar answered with a rather serious tone in his voice. He pointed at the door. "Now, please excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Good night."

So, that's it then. Tomorrow we will start our journey back to Insomida. And here I thought Namtolan was only the beginning of our long journey that would lead us way up to the north of this land...
I still... I just can't believe it. We have to escort our princess back to Insomida just because those monks are too lazy to do it themselves. I really hope we're not going to get killed. It's probably best if we just bring the child into the city at night and try not to get caught...
But anyway.
It's very late already. I haven't been able to find any sleep, so I started reading some of my journal entries again before I wrote this entry here. Now once again I can hardly keep my eyes open. I guess, I should just give up and rest...

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