Crow

Crow has made quite an impact here. I have seen people rejoice, frown, or tremble, at the mere hearing of the name. I have seen futile attempts of people, trying to figure out who is the man behind the mask, what are his motives, what is his ultimate goal. I have heard remarks about Crow, both good and bad, but all of them wrong. If only they knew that Crow is only one of my many faces...

What a sudden and unexpected turn of events! Even to this moment, as I write these lines, I find it hard to believe what has transpired... He is still alive. Imrachil, the one man to whom I owe everything, even my own existence, is alive. How can it be? My own eyes witnessed his death. Five years ago, when the corsairs came once more for raid and plunder, when I was taken forcefully, enslaved, doomed to be serving in their ships...

   These past few months have been much more productive than I could have possibly imagined. It is amazing how many people deserve death, if not worse. And each time I get rid of a target, it turns out another, bigger one was hiding behind it. Kill a slaver, only to find out the slavemaster he was working for. Kill the slavemaster, and the thread leads to the prosperous merchant, who curiously "rotates" his workforce much too often. 

   Finally, after a long absence, I have returned in Pelargir. This marvelous city, this giant slum, never ceases to amaze me. Nothing stays the same for long here, yet nothing ever seems to change. New taverns erupt on top of the old ones, but the filth and the misery still remain. New guards and guard captains appear, yet corruption and abuse of power are still everyday sightings. Honourless crooks, corrupted tax collectors, the unconcerned nobility, desperate peasants...

   It is over. I have yearned for this moment for three long years, and now, it is finally over. The man, the beast, he who was once known as the Black Tide draws breath no more. Struck down by my own hands, a deserving revenge, lavishly extracted... A revenge that tasted sweeter than the sweetest wine.

Arrived at the Old Bridge today. Well the Greenway is certainly not a nice place to be taking a stroll after all... Filled with highwaymen, desperate people preying on the travellers. Heh, not that there are many travellers these days... I've been riding for six days straight, and I've only encountered about a dozen of them... Poor scared people, on the flight to the north. As if there are no problems or threats up there...

And so, just like that, with no warning, no preparation, I left. Much has happened over the past few months... Too much perhaps. Still, I regret none of it. I never thought that it would be this hard for me to leave Bree... Even for such a small period. It's hard leaving behind people you love... I'd better put things in order, I'm beginning to lose myself in scattered thoughts and emotions.