Ophelia’s Journal - 10 Years On.
It has been almost 10 years since I last wrote in this thing so be patient with me whilst I try and arrange my thoughts. A lot has happened in the past decade and my life is very different to where I left off before. Yep, I’m getting old. I’ve started going grey. Just kidding. That’s the perk of having naturally white hair...Anyway, back to the point.
A lot has changed. I am no longer with the group I was travelling with before. Something awful happened which I will get into in a moment but long story short, our time together came to an end and everyone gradually went their separate ways. Thurid and I continued to stay at the Guild Hall for a few years. For a while it was great living together just us but over time things started to fall apart and we had to find our own paths. I was down and grieving and Thurid started becoming more distant too, losing herself in books and research. In the end I was the first to leave. Thurid and I swore to stay in touch and visit each other often although sadly that hasn’t been the case. We send each other letters when we can but she has yet to find time to visit me. I miss her a lot.
Back to the awful thing that happened: We went to the castle of Deranduil to try and save Zara from a ritual. We weren’t able to stop it and sadly she died and as a result a demon was summoned. Ark being his usual heroic self decided to step in and stop the demon on his own. He had made up his mind before we’d even started the fight that he was going to sacrifice himself and what could we do to stop him? Everyone else was thankfully saved but Arkael was just... gone.
We returned to Felenheim and everyone claimed their rewards and left. They moved on. But I couldn’t just forget as if he had never existed. He did so much for us and saved all our lives and I couldn’t forget that. It took me a long time to find my way after leaving Thurid. I had quickly spent the reward money and was down on my luck again. I took whatever work I could get and lived meal to meal for a while, until eventually I came across an orphanage. I had been doing my best to avoid slipping into old habits and when I met the kids and the owner of The Refuge, Alfred, I knew that I had to do what I could to help.
Fast forward to now and it has been a great few years. I finally feel I have found a sort of peace, surrounded by my new family. The children are great and I love spending every day helping them and playing games together. Working here gives me so much purpose that it’s easy to forget about my past and all the things I regret. That all changed last week.
A messenger turned up with a letter from Signimar Mortarbeard in Felenheim. He told me he had a lot of respect for how I had been helping people and that he required my help with some issues up beyond the Yeti’s Jaw. I decided pretty quickly that I wouldn’t be going. Why would I sacrifice the life I have finally found? Especially if it means returning to the place that caused all this pain. As I continued to read the letter I discovered that this was not the only reason he was writing to me. According to him, Arkael is alive. He had been working in secret with the intelligence officers and missed a scheduled rendezvous which Signimar is concerned about.
In all honestly, I don’t know how to feel or what to do. The thought that he could’ve been alive all this time, all these YEARS and didn’t find a way to contact Thurid and I makes me furious. I shouldered so much guilt and blame for what happened to him that day and even more than that, I mourned him and the friendship we had. I suppose I will have to go to Felenheim. As much as I love the life I’ve made here, I know I will never forgive myself if I don’t go and find out if he is okay and what happened all those years ago. And if he doesn’t have a good excuse as to why he’s been silent, I may just kill him myself.
