Hieronymus

Hieronymus the hermit is a knight of Plort.

The Tale of Hieronymus
Not much is known about Hieronymus the hermit. He travelled wide and far, looking for a place where to dwell when his livelong journey came near its end. Following rumours about a dreaded plague called the Marizu, and the brave knights who fought this evil, he came to the shores of Wechi. Unseen by anybody, he roamed this vast land for over a year, even sneaking into Arkive and the Hall of Ancient Records. Only when a stranger accused the noble knights of vile malefaction, Hieronymus stepped forward to Borrd to defend their selfless deeds.

Since then, he has talked to some of the denizens of Plort, and he began to build his home in Wechi, and to prepare his offerings to Kanun and Spelin, for he pondered to explore the mountain range of Purmeshun, but now he seems to be lost in the wood of Kar'eer. How he got there is still a mystery, for he has never been seen in Iric.

Some may conclude that Hieronymus is a fearsome mage who comes and goes of his own volition, and has not revealed his full power yet, while others may believe that he is a leaf in the wind, never knowing where he may be tomorrow, and both may be right, for being self-contradictory is his very nature.

Over time, rumours spread that the hermit may have left the dark woods to walk the roads and pathways of Plort again.

Inhabitants of Ozerbord remember a grey bearded man who appeared at the Games of Batveg, clad in the habit of a harlequin, pretending to be a veritable knight, but fighting the atrocities in other knight’s tales rather than the misdeeds of the Marizu. Of course this fool was laughed out of town.

Wordsmiths and Grammagicians at Worhkshap tell tales of a taciturn, grey bearded man wielding a staff – named Androia – in the training sessions for scribe apprentices. Civilians, knights and even barons up and down Plort claim that this very man’s feeble attempts in practising the ancient arts of Beytah may actually have improved their strength. And nobody shall ever again mention the Quiet Baker-Knight’s weird experience at the Shipfest in a nameless harbour.

It is also said that Hieronymus, on his flight from Ozerbord to Worhkshap, passed an unexplored region at the junction of the Wattuf Mountains and the Mountains of Reverence, where he found the Snow Drops, a moste potente potion that helps curing forgetfulness. How these will be used in the future is yet to be seen.

Recently, the peasants living in the lands between the rivers Wep and Friwep began to talk about a newcomer, fitting the hermit’s description, amongst the workers sent by Baron Neshomeh to help in repairing the damage caused by the last earthquakes.

The peasants are probably not mistaken, for one day not far in the past, Hieronymus appeared in the Hall of Ancient Records – as he likes to appear out of the blue – and he bent low, and he spoke up and said, 'Milady Neshomeh, I travelled wide and far. My eyes are old, and my posterior can not stand perpetually riding against the Marizu. But my mind is still sharp, and my hands don’t tremble. If you would assign me a corner in your castle Arkive, where I can rest and store my staff and flask, I could help you copying and restoring these documents I see are in bad shape and may soon disintegrate into dust. And in case I feel ever fit to follow you into battle, I would appreciate the licence to wear your colour on my shield.'

The humble hermit's request was met with grace. But rather than finding the rest he had hoped for in that tiny corner at Arkive, the archivist’s new apprentice was immediately sent off to demonstrate and improve his Eich-Tee-Ehm-Ehl skills in the devastated lands.

While Hieronymus was supposed to travel between Arkive and the river Friwep, he somehow became sidetracked to the City of Borrd. He arrived just in time for the annually Baronial Council, where he barely escaped imprisonment and prosecution for treason and libel by Baron Thanasius Ampelius. Had he not conveniently gone lost in the wood of Kar’eer again, Hieronymus would certainly have talked his head off.

On his flight from the baron’s ire, the hermit fell into a dubious dungeon. But that is another story and shall be told on another day – actually here, based on this – but Hieronymus did still not reveal how he got out of this mess again.

The way through the dungeon may have led to an alternate universe, for Hieronymus clearly remembers that he got out of the forest by following Baron Dann from Castle Tegnoh to La Wunj, where he attended a great festival, apparently held annually to celebrate a victory over the ypurs. His memories of spotting Dame Karrin the Blue and Baron Thanasius Ampelius, and making an awkward attempt to apologize, are much less clear. Before he could hear a response, Hieronymus fell to the floor, very drunken, rolled under a table, started to snore and never spoke another word in Iric.

When he woke up again, all the Ops and Dars of Iric were gone, La Wunj lay mostly abandoned, none of the few citizens Hieronymus still found remembered any recent festivities, and when he asked for Baron Dann, glares and stares were the only answers the hermit got, for everybody knows that south-eastern Plort is and always was ruled by the fair Baroness Delta Juliette. Thus, Hieronymus joined the last trek that left La Wunj to the west, and since he became more invested in the Riding of Sittorese, he travelled on until he reached the Empire of Fanvik-Neht, where he built a secret hermitage which he hopes will once become a stronghold of goodriding.

How he got across the ocean and then back again, is still one of many mysteries, but although he was supposed to be back on his job of dusting off old scrolls in Arkive, some strange fate took the archivist’s apprentice to the newly assembled Baronial Council again, where he was promptly and retroactively tasked with keeping the records.

On his way home from the City of Borrd, Hieronymus the hermit got no further than the Lhawgin Heights, for one evening, when he sat at his campfire [...] strange noise [... ho]oded figure spoke, approaching the old man, [... some(?)] of the Barons talked among us, and [...] agree [...] your journeys through the nations of [...] works in the archives [...] gain [...]understanding of the ways and mores of Pl[ort, ...] dedication to the Riding of Sittorese and the Law of Goodriding. Thus [...] join the ranks of our armies, riding against the Marizu [...]

[...] addressed like this, the archivist’s apprentice was so fl[ustered(?) ...] forgot that he had not made proper offers at the temples of Kanun an[d Spelin ...] never wandered the Knights’ Road, and he fell to his knees, and he felt a sword touch his should[er(?) ...] became a knight of Plort without much of the pomp and cere[mony(?) ...us]ually involved.

[Archivist’s note: The end of the scroll looks like it was ripped by talons and singed by flames. As far as can be determined from other sources, Hieronymus the hermit did not return to Arkive before the next Baronial Council was held, but he may have shown up when Baron Iximaz gathered an Army for a campaign to the Bronee.]