Ajax's Journal - KEEP OUT, Plodders!

[Ajax]

There's nothing left for me, here. After she was stolen from me...after I couldn't save her...what else is there?
Since I wasn't fast enough before, I made sure I'll never be too slow again. They put the juice into me, and they made the wind stand still while I run. Even those who took the praxis couldn't hope to keep up, and my flesh is unbroken. I can still feel nature. If only for a time.
Between those skull-wearing plodders and their death rays, and the spell-slingers under that madman, there's nowhere free to run. At least in the wind I can hear her laugh. I can feel her touch. I can smell her hair.
So, this expedition is arranged by Lazlo, and they're reaching out to the west, to where few have loped and fewer returned. She always loved exploring. So I'll explore, too. I'll chase the wind. I hope this team can keep up, until my time comes, and I go to join her. This team...
Icosa: I guess she's some kind of communications expert. If we are to make reports, she will be the one sending them. She seems stiff, though. Maybe she should relax. Have a drink. None of us run forever.
Tim: So...a dragon, they say. A runner. Not as fast as me, but nothing is. Can you imagine if I could have told her how I bested a dragon in a footrace?
William: This one is new here. He's a bit off, I think, but so too are so many who commune with powers beyond our knowledge. Even the seers among my tribe were...different. Protection and healing is his province. I hope not to have to use his services much.
Phoenix: Something about this one fits "rising from ashes." I suppose it's his tendency to make them. Explosives, destruction, and things mechanical fall under his skillset. I suppose the rest of the plodders will need transit. Perhaps he's the one designated to maintain it.
Tex: This one I like. He has a certain way. A code. It's noble. And you can't get anything done without magic, it seems. His hunger for learning is taking him west.
Erebus: This one has spent some time in nature, though not with pure intent. I expect that, if he is not designated "leader," he will at least be leading the herd in the field. I hear his skills are unmatched. This is useful if we intend to explore far afield.
Mars: She seems to have lost part...or all...of who she is. She must have, for she cannot be the god of war. Still, she might give him a challenge in a fight. I cannot imagine, with all the technology that abounds, why they haven't healed her eye.
I am unsure if others are being added to our numbers, but I understand we're to leave soon. It is just as well. I cannot stand being penned in these walls any longer.
Gods, I'm hungry.

[Ajax]

Is my life destined to bring misery to those around me? The little folk were displaced from their homes. We failed to protect them. What have we done? It would be better if we had not been there. The skull worshipers have earned a dire enemy today. Why was there such strength of numbers to drive out such a peaceful people? Why did they not pursue us?
The little folk are a stout people. They may appear soft by their love of food and drink and merry times, but they are hardy. Hamfast was, perhaps, a more formidable foe than many I've faced. True, we did not draw blood against each other, but the contest was not as frivolous as it would appear to the outsider. And to best me in such a clash is no mean feat. Indeed, that one won my respect. I doubt he shares that respect for me, considering the arrival of myself and my compatriots was the catalyst for their violent eviction. I wonder if he made it to this "Castle Refuge." I wonder if there is any such thing as refuge in this fallen, lost world.
I wonder if she would still be proud of me despite this miserable failure.
I wonder if I'll ever find out...

[Ajax]

With a heartfelt sentiment, Ajax recounts the story of O'Claire to Lady Mackenzie. He extols the virtues of generosity and kindness shown by the villagers. He pays a special homage to Hamfast, the consumption champion of the town. "That one must have an enchanted bag of holding where his stomach should be. The sheer quantity of foods he ate is simply beyond his spatial limitations."
The sadness that washes over him as he relays the loss of the town to the Coalition Army is palpable. He can carry loads greater than men twice his size, but that burden obviously weighs him down. "My lady, have you any news of the small folk? Do you have any contact with this Castle of Refuge?"
He finishes his report with a description of the Coalition scientists who have no doubt signaled their superiors about the troop that saved their lives. "After O'Claire, we should not have shown such mercy to these men. Perhaps it is the fate of being devoured alive by an alien creature that stirred our sympathies. But it is the last time they shall know such mercy from me. Any man wearing a skull who is not surrendering or begging forgiveness is doomed to his fate."

[Ajax]

"Charity."
If ever there was a greater misnomer, I haven't heard it. That place has only reminded me of how much I hate urban life...if what goes on in that pit could be called "urban." Pah! The politics and backstabbings and double- and triple-dealings make me sick. The baron's brother danced that fine line, but what can you do when the whole town is bought and paid for? Ahh...at least I had the good fortune to come upon this armor. Such a pace must be the envy of the horsemen of Ixion!
I have looked forward to truly getting out beyond the frontier. That we were set upon by earth-spirits at the outset is nothing more than a reason to slow our trot. This is a capable assemblage, and we have done right by the earth and by those beings in steering followers away from their valley.
I wonder what this great tomb holds in store for us. Fortunate that these Fennodi came upon us when they did. I could have run myself clear of the appetites of the dead, but no doubt many of my friends would have been fodder for their consumption. I long only to get in and get out of this place as quickly as possible.