After robbing the store, Trance fled to Hashan, his home city, and there
hid. Krathnas came, and the three of us there were ready to defend him.
Shuman start shooting meteor arrows from Crossroads, while Erikarn and
myself went running for him. He was dead upon my arrival. Where was
Trance? Running. He refused to face up to what he had done. He was more
worried about his own skin than any form of honor. I, at least, was
disgusted. Several people refused to help defend a citymate, one of the
ruling leaders, a Regent, told me they had refused to go and defend, for
they knew Krathnas would kill only Trance. I asked why did Krathnas did
not just pact Golgotha, astral form, run to Crossroads, and just summon
Golgotha. His answer surprised me. I expected "I would die before the
summon finished" or "Too expensive in gold" or whatever Occultists use.
Karma, I believe it's called. He told me he refused to kill Hashanites.
He was there to kill Trance.

Shuman, a former citymate of mine and a former guildmate of Trance
defended him in Hashan. Why? Because he told me he swore oaths to
protect a citymate, and to protect a guildmate. Typhoon gave no true
reason why Trance was outguilded. And why should he? He is the GM, and
one would suppose elected by the guild or seen as a fit replacement for
the former leader. I have never read the Serpent's Codex, although I was
told a line yesterday, that lead to my complete disillusionment with
Hashan, as a people. "If I charge, help me, If I retreat, kill me, if I
die, avenge me." Or something along those lines. I can never remember
the first bit, but something like that. The second and third, though, I
do remember. "If I retreat, kill me." I saw Trance run like a dog with
his tail between his legs when Krathnas came into Hashan. What's sad is
I did nothing, and neither did Erikarn, except run to kill him, or die
trying. A man claiming to uphold his oaths breaks another.

I will neither condone nor condem Shuman. He has his own set of beliefs,
whether I agree with how he chooses to pick which to defend over others.
However, so does Typhoon. By not outguilding Trance, he very easily
could have ended up on the unhappy side of The Merchant God's Order. As
well, unless things changed in the years I was away, more than just a
couple of Serpents are Prosperian. Outguilding Trance may have been what
was best for the guild, which no doubt Typhoon had in mind. He's a good
man. One of the few Hashanites I have any respect for.

Penned by my hand on the 15th of Phaestian, in the year 365 AF.