Diary of James Eltibule II
 Diary of James Eltibule II
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| File:Diary of James Eltibule II (lorebook).png Hint: Found in Eltibule
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| Category: | History
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| Area: | |
| Visibility: | Hidden Until Found
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Diary of James Eltibule II is a Lorebook found in the Eltibule region. It can be found in ...
Content
Property of James II, Private KEEP OUT!
Hiding in my special spot again. A new sage has arrived and is trying to treat Kat. But father is screaming at her, so I don't think the sage has anything that can help. Poor Kat is cold and pale and hasn't opened her eyes or spoken a word for two months. Mother is practically in mourning, but father says there's still hope.
The underground banging is louder than normal -- I think the dwarves are working near the surface.
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I spoke with a dwarf today! I heard him working under the hatch and surprised him. There haven't been many dwarves around for a while.
He said that all these rocks will be used to create a new building. He says they'll be making many additions to Eltibule Keep, and this hatch will eventually be a trap door in the new throne room! I can't wait to banish my enemies by pulling a rope and dropping the floor out from beneath them!
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Thirteenth birthday. Father said he'd take me to Statehelm to meet the Council, but he is preoccupied with finding money. Kat is still alive thanks to Cualgar's magic, but he says if he stops his spell even for a moment, she will pass. Father has spent most of our fortune to find a cure, and now he is busy asking every friend and ally for more money. There won't be anything left soon, and none of it will matter. I have already said goodbye to Katarina. Beloved sister, may you rest in peace.
--- Fourteenth birthday. Katarina passed a month ago: the moment Cualgar gave up the spell, she turned to stone, just as he predicted! Father is furious, but Cualgar looks broken and exhausted. I don't blame him.
Father believes the elves of Sedgewick Forest have curative magic that can help and he's mounting an expedition. The woods are a tranquil place, so Mother is going with him. That should leave me in charge, but Father says Gretchen is in charge! I don't believe he even remembers it's my birthday...
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Mother and father are dead. They've been buried next to the keep. I don't understand what happened in Thentree. Why didn't they let me see the bodies? They weren't turned to stone, that much I know.
A few dignitaries came to the funeral, but no lords came in person. No Council representatives came, either. It was just a handful of us in the rain, burying my family.
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Fifteenth birthday. I have officially taken the title of Lord Eltibule. I am the lord of dust and weeds. Father spent everything. Gretchen and Palmatir remain in my service, and the old guards.
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Sixteenth birthday. I received a letter from a dwarf named Siggund Deftwhisper. It is labeled "Happy Fifteenth Birthday"... they missed it by a year. Apparently my father had the dwarves create some sort of stupid "adventure" in the cellars. Is that what they've been doing all this time?! What a waste! I'm not a child anymore. I haven't been into the cellar in years.
I just returned from Statehelm. I've convinced the Council to parcel some of my land out to homesteaders. They're building model homes now, and soon we shall see the arrival of many new humans. I will be duke of something, damn it!
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The hammering underground stopped a few years ago, and I didn't really even notice. But the banging began again last night, and I can't tolerate it anymore! I slept through that hammering for my entire childhood, but I've heard enough! So I personally went into the cellar and demanded they stop.
The place is massive: a huge nest of tunnels and rooms. I found my mother's painting collection down there, too! They say this was all my father's doing. But that's absurd. And the strange children's game my father had them make is still down there. What a waste of time!
The dwarves say they have an agreement to finish the tunnels and then begin working on the keep itself. I will be old and gray by the time they start on the keep, though, and I have more pressing problems. So I ordered every dwarf to leave at once. They begged a week to finish and pack up. They had better be gone after that!
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Everyone knows I come here to be alone. I noticed Gretchen has cleaned up down here... Gretchen, if you're reading this, shame on you, woman!
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Kat's ghost came to me last night! She said that the elves of Thentree have a way to save her! But something was wrong. The way she talked... the way she gestured... it was like the words she spoke didn't match the motions she made. She was trying to tell me something, but I don't understand.
But I know something is very wrong. So I'm taking our fastest horse to Thentree. Kenneth will accompany me.
Kat, I'll find you!