Emer’s Diary

May 26, 1033

I went to the magic shop today, and the owner, Drand Oakenshield offered to rent me four hats of disguise if I put down a considerable deposit and had them back within 48 hours unharmed. I’ve been in there a couple of times since my first trip, mostly to drool at the items in the case, and we chat about the local happenings. It was good of him to do me this favor. I think with the hats and my spell of silence, we should get out of the university quite easily and completely pass for men once were at the races. It will be much less dangerous that way. The girls say that Madam Glerda is sound asleep by 10:30 every night, so we shall take our chances tomorrow evening!

 May 28, 1033

We had an epic time out last night. Truly, it was an evening for the poets and the song makers. Ananalie, Randa, and Smailey were the three that braved the city with me, and it was wonderful. We each adopted a teacher’s look to get out of the school, and then changed to four unknown youths, looking slightly like ourselves so we would recognize each other, but completely different at the same time.

We went to the Dog Racing first, at the arena two blocks from the university. The only women in the crowd were what Madam Samanda used to call “Working Girls”, suggestively attired, and hanging themselves across their man’s arm. The air was thick with cigar smoke, and the acrid smell of cheap beer and dog dung clung to everything. Smailey insisted on buying us all a beer, so we would look authentic and we settled down in the stands to watch. It was quite exciting, really. I could see how much more exiting it would be if you had money on the race, which of course none of us did. We cheered and yelled and slapped each other on the backs to our hearts content, like the crowd around us. The greyhounds were beautiful and lithe, racing around the track, and it could have been something I would have really enjoyed had the atmosphere been different. As it was, I had an exciting time.

When it came time to go to a tavern, they insisted on going to the Thirsty Zombie, the roughest one in town. We had dinner there at the bar, trying to keep our noses down, but looking around every once in a while to see what we could see. There was a man all in black who kept whispering things into his bag as he ate in the corner, and two small quick men who seemed to be everywhere at once, practically dimension dooring from this side of the room to the other. We decided to leave when a fight broke out near the door and the burly half-orc behind the counter had to break it up rather roughly, to the cheers and hollers of the other customers.

We were nearly caught sneaking back into the dorms. We had forgotten to switch ourselves back to teachers with the hats of disguise, and we just managed to duck into an empty classroom as Portho, the old door warden, did a midnight sweep of the halls. Other than that, our trip was quite successful. I hope the girls have the roaming spirit out of their hearts now. I don’t know if I have the desire to go again, though the first trip was all kinds of dangerous fun!

June 8, 1033

Today is the feast day of Corellian Lariethan, and it’s nice to be in a place that celebrates it again. At my home in the valley, where I lived with my parents, they always made much of this day. I almost feel like I’m back there and a child again, though it’s different. They have the marketplace festival, and the flags flying from many of the houses here, but you get the impression that it’s more about the excuse for a holiday than Corellian Lariethan himself. Still, it’s been a nice day. Annandale suspended classes (though he spent it in his office with the research books and not out in the city), and Lillias and I are planning to go dance in the square this evening. Any excuse to put on that burgundy dress is a good one!