Day Hundred and Sixteen, somewhere in the Hinterlands

In retrospect I should have bought a map, or hired a guide, or scouted the area, or something other than just walk into the wilderness with two weeks rations, my weapons and armor, and a fifty foot length of Dwarven rope. A tent, for example, might have been a good idea; a blanket wouldn't have been such a bad idea either.

I'm not alone mind you. Gidge is securely lounging in the hamock/tent half way up a tree. She used her fifty foot rope and her fancy engineer's cloak to get nice and cozy. She's still mad at me for not bringing a map, and refuses to build me one. I don't really blame her, it was pretty stupid on my part.


Laudren, wherever you are; stay still and we'll find you.
Then maybe you could show us all how to get home.

Day Hundred and Fifteen, still wildhammer stronghold

I bought supplies yesterday. If she's not back by 6am tomorrow I'm going after her. And since Gidge got her wake-e-matic auto-gong working this morning, much to this dismay of hung-over Dwarves everywhere, I'll actually know when that is.

Gidge says six in the morning is too late to go to sleep and not late enough for a drink. Must be a Dwarven saying, I've never caught her drinking in the whole twenty odd years I've known her.


Now this Ehrnsie girl of Laud's, seems like she could put away a good drink or two. And I've seen Laud down a few herself. Sounds like her Dad was more of a collector than a drinker, Rumor behind the counter is that the Thadsbrook Keep cellars were host to one of the finest collections of ale, mead, and wine outside of Ironforge. The value, so I'm told, was nearly half of the family's entire wealth.
Must have been quite the cellar, I'll have to ask Laud if we can go to her place.



Not like that. Although it seems like a good time to point out that I think I know what she was talking about when I asked her what she saw in the mirror while she was wearing that potent perfume of hers back in southshore. Must have some major self-image problems from growing up with that additude about her own looks. If I ever catch that girl I'm going to give her a piece of my mind.

Day hundred and Fourteen; wildhammer stronghold

Still not back; I've asked if anyone's heard from her. The Dwarves don't seem worried at all. Several of them actually laughed at the thought of her being in trouble.

Which brings up an interesting sidenote. Apparently Laudren's mother, Tania, spent a fair bit of time hunting with the Wildhammer's when she was younger. Garnered a fair reputation as an amazing cook and a steady hand with a hammer. It's mostly their respect for her that makes them as tolerant towards Laudren as they are. Some of the ones who actually hunted with Tania used to visit while Laudren was little, right up until the scourge came. They've had some..Gidge calls them interesting things, I just wonder how much of the goings on of her own household Laudren was actually aware of. Talking to her you'd think her mother was an angel and her father a saint. The first one is understandable, her mother died when she was only four, giving birth to a younger sister, the Ehrnsie she refrences in the journal's front page I assume.

But her father, Dwarves tend to be quite trustworthy and I doubt they'd lie about something they stand to gain nothing from. I'll not say more until I find a more direct source to talk to; I know that this 'Cellan' person was still alive two years ago. And odds are fairly good that if Gilneas remains as secure as it appears then Ehrnren is alive, and mother of a fair size brood I imagine. I'll try to talk to one or both of them before I tell Laudren any of this. She needs all the stability she can get.

Day Hundred and Thirteen, no location change

She's still away. Most of her trips aren't this long, I suppose the coast is a good distance away but it still isn't normal for her. If she's not back by Wednesday I'm going after her.

Now that we have regular mail service Gidge wrote back to her parents to make sure they knew she's still alive. I could care less what my mother thinks; but I have been trying to write a letter to Maddie's folks. They ought to know what happened. And since it was just Gidge and I, and I have seniority, I ought to be the one that tells them. It's been hard to relive, even after a year. I should have been there, I shouldn't have left her alone like that. There was no way she could have defended herself against that many of them, even in her best condition.
Gidge keeps telling me not to beat myself up over it. But it was my fault, I don't deserve to be forgiven for it. If it weren't for me she'd still be alive, safe at home or here with us. I had to go and let my feelings get in the way and she paid for it.

Crap, need to go get Gidge out of a barrel. She just hit on one of the Dwarves and she'll need help. Again.

Day Hundred and Eleven...er Twelve, still Wildhammer stronghold

Gidge finally managed to crack it. It seems like whoever enchanted this thing really didn't want people to get into it. I wonder who Laudren had doing her enchanting? This thing seems to only go back until she started her count, back when she first got to Northrend, but the pages go back years prior. But neither Gidge nor I has managed to extract any of the things recorded in them.


So the latest problem is that it was refusing to work when she gets more than about a hundred meters away. We managed to crack it, but it wasn't easy. And the Dwarves were laughing about it while we tried.


She's gone east to visit the Revantusk tribe along the coast. Some of the Wildhammers escorted her as far as the Highvale Lodge, and the rangers agreed, hesitantly, to escort her back when she returns. She's paying good money for what limited hospitality she's recieving, and it seems like some of the Dwarves here have previous dealings with her. One of the older hunters says that Laudren's got her mother's love of carefully ordered shelving, her bracelet, and her right jab. One of the younger, relatively speaking, Dwarf ladies mentioned she's got her father's hair. I take it that her family lived in the general area, and were quite popular with the Dwarven community.

Day hundred and ten, Wildhammer stronghold.

Technically outside of it, but about as close as I think they'll let Laud get. She's not trying to hide who she is with them, it takes more than love potions to fool a gryphon. It's not that the wildhammer's hate her, they're just wary of any undead. A few hunters actually brought a keg and some supplies out to us. They even brought desert, one of the Dwarves said his wife made it off an old recipe.


For some reason that made Laud cry. She's still crying, but she went out into the woods until she stops. She must have really liked pie.

Day hundred and Nine, just south of Durnholde

Alright, we're camped out tonight. Laudren's on guard, the Forsaken are strong in this area and she'll be the least likely to cause suspicion, this time. More importantly she's travelled the region before and knows the surroundings better than we do.
Also she doesn't sleep, ever.



And now the fun part. I went over to help Laud get away from Gidge last night. I open the door and find that Laudren has put Gidge in the dresser and is leaning against it to keep her from getting out. I ask her if she needs help, and she just smiles. Apparently during the whole crown chemical deal last spring she bought a lot of extra vials so she could figure out how they did it. She used a little bit of Troll voodoo to extend the effects and strengthen her own resistance to it. Apparently the side effects can be.. well, no one would have objected. A part of me wishes she hadn't taken as many precautions. She did let me sketch her though, twice. She wanted to keep a copy for herself. She also wanted to make sure we stopped off at what's left of her place on our way to Light's Hope. Probably just nostalgia.

Gidge is still a bit shaken. It was a powerful potion, and it's not often you find yourself face to face with the girl of you dreams; even if you know she's actually a rotting corpse.