[MrsJones]

( I've been using Tumblr as a sort of journal for Anneke. Check out the link in my signature! It's much prettier there ^^ But I'm going to repost most of it here too since this is the norm. Thanks for the idea @BrandenburgAngel )

Name: Anneke Morov
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Age: 22
Class: Rogue
Alignment: NE
Deity: Mask

Appearance: Very similar to the artwork below, with bright sky blue eyes, a slightly wavy blond bob, a lip ring, a height of just over 5 feet, and a petite frame overall with the toned physique typical of someone who works out regularly. Some might recognize her features and slight accent as Damaran.
Demeanor: Still generally shy and quiet, but more confident in herself than when she first arrived in Thay

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Entry 1

Some bastard on the caravan from Damara to Thay decided to paint my likeness without my knowledge. Thank the Darkbringer, I discovered his deceit and recovered the images with no more trouble than a little blood on my handaxe.

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Entry 2

I am thoroughly exhausted… Strangest. Night. Ever. An odd little red-headed elf named Alicaryn decided to include me and a rather… strapping armored fellow named Gabriel in a spontaneous sort of play-acting thing. With me as the desperate cabbage addicted damsel in distress and she as the cackling cabbage hoarding witch. Seriously. And for some reason I complied! I am seriously considering that a spirit may have momentarily possessed me…

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Entry 3

I dreamed of my brother’s death, just like it really happened. Slow and ugly, my father praying by the bed. But then his pock-marked body rotted away before my eyes until nothing was left but a bare skeleton. It seemed the Darkbringer spoke to me, commanding “Let the rot cover all… Fear me and obey.” I immediately woke in a cold sweat and set to building a fire to stop the shivering.

I pray for His dreams each night, but the ones with my brother are the hardest to bear. I wish I knew if it was really Him... or just nightmares. At least I’m feeling like myself again. Cabbages indeed…

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Entry 4

Best. Day. Ever. Normally, I’m the quiet, thoughtful one in the corner, but right now I can hardly contain my joy! Thank the gods I found somewhere private to write this down… Where do I even begin?! …Darius! I almost fainted when I spotted Moander’s symbol on the back of his cloak. Before today, I’d never met another of the Darkbringer’s children, and now I have the chance to be part of the cult that will return our Lord to its former glory! I don’t even know what to do with myself - I’m twitching with anticipation. A slain corpse, that will calm my nerves…

[MrsJones]

Entry 5

I am such a spaz sometimes. I’d just met Maera and Talon, and things were going well. I sort of enjoyed conversing with them actually. Especially after the awkward, tense conversation earlier with that foppish womanizer, Mal’um. Ugh. I almost stuck him in the gut, right in the middle of town. If a woman says she’s not interested, take a gods damned hint.

In any case… All Maera did was ask which temple I’m thinking of joining and I bolted. Literally. She knew I was hiding something. She tried to be all supportive, but they never understand. Not really. And besides, I’m supposed to be keeping my religion a secret for now. At least until I know for sure that I can trust a person. And that doesn’t come after one conversation. I have to be more careful now with who I let close to me. There is more at stake than my own life.

Meanwhile, definitely working on my poker face…

[MrsJones]

Entry 6

I’ve decided that Maera was right, when she said that I would grow to think of Thay as my home. So many firsts, too good to be true. I must be where I am supposed to be, where the Darkbringer wants me to be.

Today I met a shadowdancer. Daeris, she said. It was something like how they describe love at first sight in stories. Not for her, for what she had. I just knew, in that moment, that I wanted it more than anything I’ve ever wanted. And that I would do anything to get it. She popped out of thin air right before my eyes, from shadows, from nothing at all. I questioned her, willing her to tell me her secrets. But she only said that it takes a lot of practice… I better get started.

[MrsJones]

Entry 7

"Do not mistake my shyness, for weakness. I am stronger than I look..." I over heard someone say this and it struck a chord with me.

In the past couple days, I’ve had two women on separate occasions tell me that I need to be more confident in myself, or I’ll never survive in Thay. One of them is an interesting new friend, Linahe. Lovely, Mulani, and and so sure of herself, at least by all appearances. I guess I should take the hint. It’s just so much harder than they make it sound… but practice makes perfect, right?

[MrsJones]

Entry 8

Maybe… maybe I was wrong, about a lot of things. I was such a pitiful mess after Soren’s death. How does anyone bear the passing of a little brother? Is there any way to make it easier, to lessen the pain every time you think of their chubby sticky fingers in yours or their infectious giggle or the way they nestled into your arms? If there is, I haven’t found it.

Like I said, a mess… Maybe I was wrong about the dreams. Maybe they were just dreams. Twisted images of things I didn’t want to think about when awake. The red wizard says the Darkbringer is risen, by his own hands, but… the scriptures say the Darkbringer is dead. And others have warned me against this red wizard’s manipulations. That I am only a stepping stone for his own ambitions. Who am I to believe? Who am I to trust? How am I to make the most important decisions of my life when I have nothing to go on but the words of others? These are the thoughts that have haunted my sleepless nights.

But… I think the sleepless nights have finally come to fruition. I think I know the answer to all these questions. Simply that, the only person I can trust is myself. I have to follow my heart. I have to. What else can I do? And my heart says I need to leave the past where it is, and start over here in Thay, my new home.

[MrsJones]

Entry 9

Is it possible to have a friend in a place like Thay, a real friend? Can bad people still be loyal to each other, still watch out for each other, still care for each other? Am I a bad person? What if I was forced to choose between a “friend’s” well-being and my own? What would happen?

I wish I knew the answer to even one of these questions. I guess time will tell. In any case, it sure is nice to have someone to talk to.

[MrsJones]

A short poem has been copied into the journal, just above the next entry and reads:

Entry 10

This is just how I normally feel… add a man into the equation and double it, at least. So pathetic. Especially if they seem at all interested in me, which despite my best efforts to just blend in, has happened more than once since coming to Thay. Mostly it scares me, but… there is also something nice about being noticed in that way.

There’s the legionnaire… but I’ve always thought his teasing and sweet words weren’t reserved for me, and haven’t taken them seriously. Just about anything female seems to turn his head. He can be kind though and, I guess I’ve grown to trust him.

Then just yesterday, the rogue… the perfect word to describe him. He made me smile and laugh and blush, and I hope it isn’t the last time he includes me in his mischief-making.

And as much as I can’t believe I’m writing it, I do think I’m getting better at overcoming my own anxieties… around women -and- men. Maybe I'll crumple that poem into a little ball someday and toss it into the fireplace. We'll see.

[MrsJones]

Entry 11

Alcohol dulls the wits, and as a general rule, I avoid the stuff. I swear it’s made of concentrated demon essence. But… I guess it wouldn’t hurt me to relax once in a while. In the right situation, with the right people, when I don’t have anything I need to do, obviously. In any case, time for a sudsy tub and a nap, maybe at the same time… those few sips of Aethe’s whiskey made me all warm and sleepy.

[MrsJones]

Entry 12

I think… a kiss on the hand can be sweeter than one on the lips. Not an explosion, but… like the sparks when flint strikes steel, making your pulse race a little and your cheeks warm. I keep finding my fingers unconsciously touching the spot on the back of my hand where Aethe’s lips lingered.

I am hopeful about this… which scares me, but there’s no turning back now.

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Entry 13

Well that was a stressful day… thank the gods for large cups of tea and sudsy tubs. I never thought I’d play the part of counselor to anyone.

Started out just fine. Ran into Talon, who I hadn’t seen in quite some time. He seemed to be chatting with Lieutenant Locke and an ethereal-looking little elf, and I was just about to say hello and ask how he was doing when he stormed off, seemingly out of the blue. I pursued him, out of curiosity and concern, and after some sweet coaxing and prodding, discovered that it had entirely to do with Locke… I won’t repeat the details of the conversation here, for fear of causing further strife if it were discovered, but jealousy seemed to be the root cause of the problem.

Luckily, Talon seemed to realize this all on his own and calmed down enough to smooth things over with Locke. It’s hard to see someone you consider a friend so distressed and… lost. And outright confrontation is just not my thing - frays my nerves to the last. I doubt this will be the end of their feud… jealousy isn’t the sort of thing you can just sweep under the rug and forget about, but we’ll see. I don’t give a goblin’s toe about most of the world, but I don’t like to see my friends hurt.

[MrsJones]

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A page that appears to have been torn from a book with an illustration of a werewolf is nestled in the journal’s binding above the following entry:

Entry 14

Well, things were finally getting back to normal… relatively speaking, of course. I do still live in Thay. And then… over the course of a mere two days, Talon and I were both bitten by werewolves in the sewers beneath Bezantur.

I still get the shivers at the thought of it… the searing pain where its teeth sank into my flesh, the disorienting sensation when the disease took hold, the sudden intense awareness of things I’d rarely thought of before, like the fullness of the moon and the distinct smell that emanates from each human being. It was horrifying and enlightening and… I wish I could properly describe it.

In any case, somehow, I managed to escape the beast and use my portal stone to get back to the Trident. And by the gods, someone, somewhere, was watching out for me that day, because right there in front of me was Maera and Talon. The latter was still in the throes of the disease himself from the day before, his emotions alternating quickly between rage and bloodlust and desire. I cursed myself for leaving him without ensuring that he’d found a way to fix it… I just didn’t know! I’ll never forgive myself for that… but at least I know now. And thank the gods he found Maera before it was too late.

Without too much trouble, she fixed us both up, good as new. I don’t think I can ever repay a debt like that, but I’ll certainly try. There aren’t too many that I really care about, too dangerous, but those two are right up there at the top.