Dirty Notebook

"Never before have so many troubles beset our lands. Robbers rule the roads. Peasants flee, leaving everything they own behind. And now this terrible sickness: I saw with my own eyes how people got a fever, and then monsters clawed their way out of them. And our most honorable baroness is sitting on his hands as he wants nothing to do with this. If this goes on any longer, he'll have to collect tax from monsters and robbers, because there will be nobody else left. Since no one is helping us, neither the gods nor the baroness, I've firmly decided to rescue our lands myself. Destroying all the robbers and monsters is beyond me, but at least I can restore justice. Yesterday, grandmother Elsa lost her only hen. How did the simple folk deserve all of this? Take Garald, that clueless bully: he's got a full hen house, he always has enough eggs and meat. Is that at all fair? That's why I decided to sneak into Garald's hen house at night and take one of his hens. It won't hurt him. I put the bird in Elsa's hen house, the grandmother will jump of joy in the morning. Garald's hens look nothing like the one Elsa lost, but is that so important? All eggs taste the same. The important thing is that justice has been restored. And our baron can sit in the castle and twirl his thumbs all he wants. I never liked that grumpy Ralph was so prosperous, especially in times as harsh as these. He must have at least 20 heads of cattle. He's gloating in his neighbors misery, glad that their livestock didn't make it back from the pastures, and sells milk to them for an arm and a leg. So I came at night and took his herd to the old hut. There are meadows nearby, they won't starve, and I'll take their milk to the village and give it to those in need. Who knows where I'm getting it? I successfully hid the herd, but I couldn't find it anywhere the next morning. Well, I did find the horns, skins and tails. Bad luck. Well, at least Ralph isn't having such a good time anymore. Yesterday, I saw a wonderful stallion on the road, with a rare coat. It was all white, with beautiful spots on its sides and so many shiny badges on its saddle it hurt my eyes! I reckoned, it must be some money bag who stopped to take a leak. I wouldn't have won if I were to fight him, but taking his stallion — sure thing. Untied it, sprung on its back and galloped all the way to the village. I quietly led the stallion into uncle Frey's shed — his old mare might die ploughing the field any day now. Came by to check on him today, and there was nothing but ashes left of his hut, and a lot of horse tracks on the ground around it, as if from a cavalry unit. Odd. Greedy Rickman has stuffed his barns full of grain and refuses to share it with the needy. At night, I snuck into one of his barns and pulled out a sack of grain. Decided to take it to aunt Lucy. The sack was heavy, but my sense of justice gave me strength. I hid the sack in her barn. But come next morning, that damned Rickman went all the way from his barn straight to Lucy's barn, as if by smell, and made an awful scene! The scoundrel. I am positive that once the peasants find out who's been helping them, they'll write songs about me. But my heart desires even more heroic deeds. I cannot stand watching the people's misery. It is time to give them back their happy lives. Tomorrow I am planning to travel to the hideout of the Stag Lord himself and steal all the treasure he has accrued by robbing poor peasants and refugees from neighboring lands. The truth shall triumph. And after that we'll get to the gold of our baroness. We'll see what he hides in those coffers."