Moonfest, my favorite time of year! Candle-lit gourds, the smell of chimney smoke, and the early chill that is the promise of winter. I fondly recall the roasted nuts and candied fruit of my childhood, and weaving dolls of harvest stalks in front of the hearth to hang upon our door!
I suppose Octavia and Mother are giddy with sweets and painting their dolls even still. Father would be sharing stories of Grandfather and how he left the security of the family holding for an uncertain destiny in the city. Beregost is quite the metropolis compared to the hinterlands of Francis Fallow’s youth!
It is my fifth year in Baldur’s Gate, a true metropolis, and the fourth Moonfest I have spent away from home. The celebrations are not much different here than in Beregost. Perhaps a bit more lively as bards fill the taverns and the streets host elaborate pageantry. This year, however, I am missing my family more than ever. Perhaps it is the journey that lies before me. In this way, I carry forth the tradition of my grandfather… as he left the farm for the city, I shall leave the city for the world!
Spirits change with Winter’s onset. Wars are put on hold as the dead are honored, and folks gather more closely with their loved ones. It is a time of peace, reflection, and memorial. As Sir Master Trys likes to preach; history is our compass, if we are wise to it!
Master Trys is as an uncle to me. An uninhibited elf with wild stories and large appetites; his zeal for life is infectious! Yet he is tempered by elven years and worldly lessons. His moral support for my mission has been generous and inspiring when held to the concerns of my family, though in fairness this opportunity only comes by way of Father’s sacrifice. For that I will always be grateful!
Master Trys gifted me a rare map to an ancient ruin, which so far has proved an abundance of joy for my imagination! The true importance of the place is known only to the cartographer himself, who died obsessing over a curse that most believed to be delusional. When the map surfaced, there was no context other than its location lie deep in the heart of Chult.
Though my future is uncertain, it would seem Fate is at the helm. Tomorrow begins the month of Nightal, and soon I am bound for Port Nyanzaru. I will miss Winter in Baldur’s Gate, but I look forward to the wonderful and exotic experience ahead!
