Areon was born in the Moonwood, though none of his memories actually take place there. His parents moved north to the Cold Wood very shortly after he was born.

Not long after settling in the Wood, the Elauwit family was attacked by a large band of orc raiders. Though both of Areon’s parents fought valiantly, killing dozens of orcs between them, the orcs were too many. If not for the Uthgardt hunting party that heard the commotion and intervened, the Elauwit line surely would have ended.

The Elauwit family and the Uthgardt tribes have been very cooperative with each other since that day. Dimore has helped to train rangers and scouts for the Uthgardts and the Uthgardts have helped to train Areon to fight orcs. Though the Elauwits are followers of Solonor Thelanria, Areon’s time with the Uthgardts has taught him much of their religion. He has adapted many of the Uthgardts teachings to supplement his religion.

While Areon was being trained, a raiding party of orcs overran a small hunting party of Uthgardts, slaughtering them. Areon disappeared into the woods when he heard the news. No one saw him for two weeks, and the worst had been assumed. When he returned, he carried over his shoulder a sack filled with the heads of seven orcs, one for each member of the hunting party killed.

The Uthgardts promised to create for him a weapon of his choice. Areon asked for a greatsword, which drew much amusement from the Uthgardts. They wondered, “How could the small elf, only a little over five feet tall, wield a sword longer than he was tall?” Areon quietly accepted the sword and returned home.

A few weeks later an orc raiding party attacked the camp during the night. Though the orcs were driven away, they managed to loot much of the camp during the battle. The next morning the Chief found that the tribe’s lineage records, which were carved into a large silver sculpture of a tiger, had been stolen.

Areon volunteered immediately to go and find them, knowing that the Uthgardt rangers were needed to stay to help hunt for food and track Orcs. The Uthgardts accepted his offer gratefully, presenting him with a holy symbol that would help protect him in his quest.

Areon’s mother gave him a blank spell book before he left and asked that he
keep a log of his travels in it. She explained that should the unthinkable happen to him, the book would teleport itself back to her.

For 3 months now Areon has been searching for the totem. He has hunted down many orcs, interrogating each victim before they die. His search has led him to Silverymoon, where he believes the totem is going to be sold, or worse. He hopes to find it before to long so he can return home.

Character sheet: Areon Elauwit [Wood Elf Ranger]

Kythorn 2, 1373, Greycastle Mine

I had been in Silverymoon for almost a month and had very little luck in finding any clues about the Uthgardt Tiger. Though I had more than enough money to continue searching, I felt a need to get out of the cramped (but most certainly beautiful) city. I had been visiting a tavern called the Bright Blade Brandished and heard of many contracts being given to the more adventurous customers of the bar.

I had been considering getting one for myself, but had not really found a reason to, other than to get out of the city, but several of the people I had met over the time I had spent in the inn were very interested in getting a contract, so I decided that I would help them with their adventure.

Our little group is composed of very different personalities and lifestyles; it should be interesting to see how well we get along in the future. Antonio is a sorcerer of some sort, and it appears that he has quite an affinity for fire. He has a loud-mouthed Halfling companion named Tassar whose body seems to consist of a mouth, stomach and stein. A cleric of Tymora’s temple named Deitricha has joined us, ironically, so it appears that luck may indeed be on our side, and an Elven girl, Theona, who claims to be “looking for lost Elven artifacts.” Unfortunately she had not stumbled across the Uthgardt Tiger in her searches.

We found very quickly that Lord Evendor Greycastle was interested in hiring a band of adventurers to quell a “disturbance” in a mine that he had recently gained possession of. He offered us 500 gold pieces and rights to whatever we could remove from the mine on our own.

So our party of five set off. We traveled for about a day to the mine that we had been told of. It was approaching dark when we arrived, so I suggested that we rest outside and out of site. I found a small protected area that we could all fit in comfortably, and Tassar immediately suggested that Antonio light a fire. I immediately told Antonio not to start a fire, because a fire would be a beacon to anything that could be out in the woods. Theona suggested that Antonio warm Tassar’s food with a spell, and it seemed to alleviate the tension. I know that they are not used to living in the Cold Wood like I am, but I thought that they would realize how bright a fire is when it is the only light source for miles.

The next morning we made our way into the mine, finding very realistically proportioned statues, which were all smashed in various places. The only statue that still had a head wore an expression of horror.

I had followed tracks into the mine, and found that they separated. A few sets wandered off to the right, but never returned, while the majority went straight ahead. Tassar wandered into a passage to the left and yelled something about Elven artifacts, but then came wandering back and insisted that we followed the footprints of no return....

We followed the footprints into a room filled with webs and Halfling-sized spiders, which attacked us. Theona killed one with her crossbow while Tassar buried an arrow in Antonio and Antonio tried to kill the spiders with spells. We managed to kill off the spiders pretty quickly and searched the room for treasure, finding nothing but dead kobolds, we moved on.

Theona climbed a ladder and was immediately pelted with sling stones, announcing the presence of several kobolds. I killed one that Antonio had injured and Theona had killed another. Tassar scrambled up the ledge they were on and cut down another as they were trying to flee. We collected a few short spears that the kobolds were using, and then continued to give chase to the single kobold that managed to flee from the failed ambush. Tassar found a pit trap by falling through it in a loud clatter, and we quickly helped him out of the ten-foot deep pit so we could continue chase together.

The kobolds had already set up another ambush, however. We were attacked at range by several kobolds, while a few had hidden in alcoves in the mine walls. Theona didn’t see one and was stabbed in the back; she crumpled to the ground unconscious. I killed the kobold that had attacked her and stepped into the fighting, trying to keep them away from her. The kobolds across the way knocked Deitricha unconscious and wounded Antonio so he cannot fight. Tassar and I managed to fight off the rest of the kobolds, and we have dragged everyone to a short dead-end hallway that we can easily defend standing side by side. It occurred to me that I have not checked to make sure that Theona is alright, though I did remember to check Deitricha and bandage her wounds as quickly as I could. I can hear more kobolds coming; I just hope that there are not too many. Tassar is looking worse for wear, and though I am not badly wounded, I do not think I can last to long before I will be unable to fight....

…We managed to drag all the wounded to a dead-ended hallway and prepared for a fight, but Antonio had other ideas.

He dumped oil all over the ground in the 5-foot wide passage that we were in and when the fist Kobold appeared, he tried to light the oil on fire. He passed out, so I dragged him out of the way, but the oil caught fire, torching the kobold and blocking off the tunnel for a short time.

The tunnel quickly filled with smoke, and we were forced to find a new place to hide. Tassar and I carried everyone to the ledge that we had been ambushed from last. We pulled up the ladder, giving us a safe spot to stay at for a while. Tassar and I kept watch for about 16 hours while kobold would sneak up, attack and flee. Of course, we were often able to notice them coming before they realized that we had and would manage to surprise the ambushers. Finally the attacks stopped for a while, and Tassar and I were able to get some rest.

Deitricha came to; enough at least to cast a healing spell on herself and on a few of us. Tassar decided that he should wander off alone in the dark to attack the kobolds. Deitricha gave him her everburning torch, which Tassar promptly hid under his clothing. He then wandered off.

Shortly after we heard a rain of sling stones, and Tassar tossed Deitricha’s torch on the ground, providing some illumination of the ambush he had blundered into. Theona rushed ahead to help Tassar, but I spotted a group coming to attack us from the rear, so I did my best to keep them from over running us. The battle was quite taxing, as Antonio went into unconsciousness again. But after we had driven off the attack we were un-harassed for a whole day. We decided that we should tread deeper into the cave, since we seemed to be in better shape than the past couple days. Theona led the party into a very narrow tunnel, and I heard a curse, and then a loud bang, and it appeared that the party had become deafened. I guessed it was the work of a thunderstone, but I didn’t see it, so I was not sure.

Tassar rushed into yet another ambush, this one led by a bigger kobold who was in armor and carrying a battleaxe. Deitrcha healed the wound I had accumulated, but the kobold hit her with his axe and she went down with a nasty gash in her side. I knew I couldn’t help her, so I tried my hardest to take out the axe-wielding kobold, but his armor just deflected all my attacks. He managed to make me see stars with that axe, and I knew I was out of the fight. The rest of the party managed to kill him, and fortunately all the kobolds scattered when he went down. Theona found the rest of the tribe, and “bargained” terms for them to leave in peace.

We rigged up a stretcher for Deitrcha, and headed home with our treasure. We must have been quite a sight, four bloody warriors traveling with a fifth unconscious comrade…

We took Deitrcha to her temple where a cleric healed her wounds. Then we headed to celebrate.

There was a greatsword in the treasure, which had been obviously made by a master weaponsmith, so I asked that I could take it as part of my treasure. We split up the rest, selling the other jewelry and weapons. Over all I think we all managed to collect about 600 gold worth of items (and reward) each…that should keep us well off for a little while…

Kythorn 7, 1373, Silverymoon

I returned to the Bright Blade Brandished the next morning, having left the rest of the group to their revelry the night before. I am sure that they missed me, but I had no desire to drink at the tavern, and I felt a need to be away from everything. I wandered through the streets for a few hours, admiring the beauty of Silverymoon, and watching the people who were about.

Once I met up again with everyone, we shared a breakfast that Antonio had bought for all of us. While we were eating, I tried to listen to the conversations going on around me, but had trouble with it because of an argument that Tassar and Theona were having. After we had finished Theona insisted that we return to the Greycastle estate to collect the rest of our payment.

Lord Greycastle was more than happy to give us the payment he had promised, and Theona asked if he would want us to do any work as a security force, checking to make sure that no other undesirables moved into the mine. Greycastle did not seem very concerned, however. He did offer us a job, however guarding a small caravan going to Everlund. He offered us a total of two hundred gold pieces to do the job, one hundred of which was in advance. I know that he probably trusts us, especially with the efficiency (he thinks) that we cleared the mines with. But if he is offering half the payment in advance, I would think that there is something important in that caravan.

Antonio took responsibility for getting some provisions for us, while the rest of us returned to the tavern. Tassar and Deitricha took a table close to the bar for themselves, while Theona and I picked a table that was a good vantage point to the rest of the tavern. I know that I have to be around people if I have any hope of finding the Tiger, but it still unnerves me. I feel much more at home under the trees or out in the open than in a crowded room. Theona seems most comfortable in the city though, which make me wonder if she feels the same way about the outdoors as I feel about the indoors.

We listened to the conversations going on around us, and though I was only listening for rumors about a certain statuette, I am sure she was listing for something else to explore. She told me that she had heard about people disappearing down by the docks, and asked me if I wanted to check it out. I of course was ready to find just about any excuse to move about, so we waited for Antonio to return.

Theona caught Antonio as he was passing by and told him about her find, and he agreed to go check it out with us. When she went to talk to the (heavily inebriated) Tassar and Deitricha, she found that they had wandered off together.

We decided that we would go without them then, and we decide to meet after Antonio had finished his shopping. I wandered the streets for a bit again, this time by the light of day. The city bears much resemblance to a forest, though the huge numbers of houses and buildings built among the trees belies that illusion. I long to head north again, to the land where everything is untouched by civilization, but I know that I will not until my missions here are over.

We met again at dusk and headed to the docks. We did not see anything out of the ordinary at first, but then Theona spotted a suspicious figure ducking into the sewers, carrying something human shaped. I immediately gave chase, blowing my signal whistle so the town guard would know something was up. Antonio gave Theona his lantern and waited above ground, knowing that his magical powers were not a potent within the city.

I tried my best to track within the sewers, but they do not hold tracks like the ground under the sun, and the extreme closeness of the tunnel did nothing to help me concentrate. I began to wonder if it was such a wise decision, chasing the kidnapper, but I continued on, hoping that we could find something.

We saw a blur of motion and headed to follow it, but Theona felt like something was behind her. She spun and the ghoul behind her only managed to get her side, rather than her back. She fired her crossbow, nearly putting the bolt the full way through the creature, and I put it down with a solid hit from my sword. I then used a wand I had purchased in case there was no cleric with us, or if she was incapable of helping us, to heal Theona.

Antonio then caught up to us with four other guards. One got a description of what we were chasing and the other three stayed with us to help in any way they could. I tried to find the signs of passing that our quarry had surely left, but had no luck. Theona found some blood on the wall and started to head down the tunnel, but almost immediately stopped and examined the wall. After a few seconds, she found a hidden catch and the wall opened.

It opened to a staircase which led to a small room filled with Crate and barrels. There was a door opposite us, and after Theona checked it for traps, we kicked it in. Almost as if there had been a trap connected to the door on the other side, an arrow flew from across the room, narrowly missing us. Theona returned the shot, dropping the man. We fought with another thug, who had managed to stab Theona in the back, and a third, who had been opposite a set of bunk beds from us fled out through another door.

We would have given chase, but two guards had been badly wounded and needed treatment. We got them back to their headquarters, where a couple healers were stationed, and waited until there were a few more guards to spare to return and investigate.

When we did return we found that the storage room had been cleared, a sure sign of the little kidnapping group moving on. We called it a night and headed to get some rest.

The next morning we met up and Antonio told us what he had purchased for our trip. We also relayed the story of out late-night adventure to Deitricha and Tassar. Not long after Deitricha left, saying she needed to get some rest, adding a sheepish “at home” on as an afterthought. We agreed that we should get some rest, and we each went our different directions.

I traveled outside the city so I could be more comfortably alone. I found a tree that had branches that I could fashion some arrows from, and spent the day making a few. I could almost hear my father guiding me as I made them, though we both know that he has taught me enough that I could probably even make my own bow by now, though I think I will wait for a while before I try that venture.

I returned to the inn shortly before dusk, and made sure I was ready to head out tomorrow….

Kythorn 9, 1373, Nether Mountains

Greycastle wasn’t kidding when he said it was a “small caravan.” In fact, the caravan consists of 3 wagons (including the one Antonio bought) and 4 guards (other than our little band of adventurers). I am even more concerned about our safety now, as 200 gold pieces to guard such a small caravan seems to be a little overkill.

We set of however towards Everlund. I set off slightly ahead of the group so I would be able to spot anyone approaching us. It may seem a little paranoid, but I prefer to be ready, just in case we should come upon a group who would want to take our goods without any compensation….

Other than passing a few Silver Knights shortly after we left the city, I had a relatively uneventful trip, until the storm, that is. It hit almost without warning. We stopped to camp and wait it out, but the wind was keeping the fire from being lit, and we were worried that we would be too exposed to the cold. We set up into the mountains a little, and found a small cave to keep shelter in.

We had settled in and began watches. In the middle of the night, we heard a scraping sound, and then the horses started whinnying. I jumped up to see what was going on and found — Orcs! These were not live orcs though, they were zombies raised for some foul purpose, I brought my greatsword down, ending one’s unlife, and Theona shot the next one to emerge from the secret door we had missed. Deitricha turned the remaining few, and Antonio tossed a “cocktail,” (as he has dubbed them) lighting them on fire.

Now I’m normally not too picky about how a person fights, as long as it is effective, but I don’t think Antonio is picking the best option. His “cocktails” are merely some oil in a fragile bottle with a burning rag sticking out the top. There are far too many ways for him to hurt himself, or us, because of an accident. Not to mention where he throws the bottles. In the cave, it is not so dangerous, but in the woods if he were to do the same thing he could cause irreparable damage. I swear that if something like that should happen, I will consider him just as much of an enemy as any orc that I have meet in the Coldwood.
Anyway, Antonio, Tassar and I followed the passage down the way the Zombies had come, and were ambushed (albeit poorly) by living orcs. We fought our way out of the ambush and discovered that our attackers were fanatical followers of Gruumsh, made obvious by their single remaining eye.

We returned and told Theona and Deitricha about the live orcs and Theona immediately agreed to help us clear the caves, Deitricha reluctantly agreed to go, but I am sure that she would have been just as adamant about killing these orcs, had she seen the things they have done, like I have.

We made our way until we came in to a room filled with undead orcs. They shuffled to attack us and we did our best to hold them off. The orcs proved to be too much however, and soon I lost consciousness. When I came to Theona had dragged me out of harms way and used my wand of healing on me, then given me a potion of healing she owned (I will have to pay her back for the potion).

We returned to the cavern to rest, and Theona jammed the secret door shut with a few copper coins. I tried to rest, but the constant pounding of a zombie on the opposite side of the door kept me wary.

Morning came, but Drake did not want to continue our trek until the storm broke. Much to the horror of Deitricha we decided that we would un-jam the door and deal with whatever came out. When the coins were removed, a lone zombie came stumbling out, and Theona and I each shot our crossbow and bow, respectively, at it. However, Antonio decided it would be best to try and light the zombie on fire, and so he managed to catch both my arrow and Theona’s bolt in the back. He dropped to the ground, but not before catching himself, Tassar, and eventually, the zombie on fire.

We returned to the hall of the big fight we had the night before, and found it to be empty. Theona checked about the room, and after much debate Antonio set a tapestry of Gruumsh on fire. I am now beginning to be very concerned that Antonio may start fire before he thinks about their consequences…and I am afraid I am going to have to be the one to point it out to him. I was about to start, but Tassar claimed that he heard guttural speech down the tunnel from us, and I immediately headed that way. It has been entirely too long since I used this sword as I had intended to….

Kythorn 11, 1373, Everlund

We rounded a corner running right into the orcs’ campsite. Tassar started across, falling into a pit trap, and I decided it would be better to use my bow, rather than risk falling into another trap.

Tassar was not giving up, however, and I could see arrows flying out of the pit to stick in any orc who got too close. I admire his fighting spirit; it reminds me of home. Antonio fell almost immediately, and Dietrecha did her best to drag him out of the way and get him healed. Theona killed a few orcs and an orc spellcaster with well placed crossbow bolts. Although I had killed several orcs, I had been wounded as well, and I lost consciousness then.

When I came to, all the orcs were dead, save one, who had fled. We decided that it would be best not to chase the orcs, as this little group seemed to have a lot of backup. We settled for just searching their cave. After a few minutes of traveling side tunnels, Theona found something: An orc in a cage! This one was quite different than the others. He was more than happy to talk to us, and did so so eloquently, that I became worried that maybe he was bait to a trap. Theona opened his cell before I said anything, and though I made no objection, Tassar said that we would kill him if he turned out to be an orcish helper.

Dante (as we had learned his name through Theona’s questioning), insisted that he was a human bard who had been on the wrong end of a polymorph spell. I don’t know who his “friend” was who did that, but I sure don’t want to meet him. He also provided us with some intriguing information the group of orcs we had found was an advance post of a small army led by an orc necromancer known as Grom. He is apparently blessed by Gruumsh and had managed to even build a stronghold in the Nether Mountains.

We heard the sounds of war drums in the distance, and decided that our little cave probably wasn’t going to be a safe haven any longer. So we set off in snow too deep for Tassar to even move in, he took it well, though, standing in the back of the last wagon, bow ready, should anything decide to sneak up behind us.

Our horses soon gave up on dragging the wagons through the snow, and we made a camp next to a river, so that if we were attacked, the attack would not be from more than one side. Almost as soon as we had finished setting up our little campsite, we were attacked. Not by the orcs that we had thought we were being chased by, but by wolves.

As the battle ensued, I could hear Dante shouting over the din, telling jokes. I know it sounds odd, but having someone who can loosen up a party in the tense moments of a battle is a priceless member of a party. We all fought better because of Dante, though one of the other caravan guards was killed by a wolf. Antonio tried to add more to the body count, but fortunately both Tassar and I are a little too powerful to be killed outright by his ill-aimed spells. Honestly, someone is going to kill him if he hits them at the wrong time.

After we had dispatched the wolves, Deitricha gave the corpse of the caravan guard a blessing, and Tassar skinned a wolf and began cooking it. I wanted to stop him, as the smell would surely bring in more creatures to fight, but I decided not to, and just hoped that anything coming it would be able to be chased off or killed.

After an uneventful rest, we traveled the rest of the way to Everlund. It took us two days, all through the deep snow, but we did not have to face any other type of attack. We split in town with Drake, agreeing to meet in five days; hopefully the snow will have melted by then.

We quickly found an inn, named The Stone Griffin because of the massive stone griffin in the middle of the lobby. Antonio arranged the rooms, setting up Deitricha and Tassar together (big surprise there!) and Dante and Theona together. Tassar and Deitricha had quite a laugh about that, and I heard several off color remarks about the rooming arrangements. I couldn’t help but be relieved that Antonio did not have Dante room with me, as I do not think I could be comfortable with sharing a room with an orc.

I am worried about Theona being with Dante though. It isn’t that I don’t think Theona can handle herself, because I know very well that she can. But I still fear that Dante may not be telling us everything we should know….

Kythorn 18, 1373, Everlund

A knock on my window startled me during the first night. I was even more surprised to see Theona kneeling outside the window motioning for me to let her in.

When I did she explained to me that Dante was a Harper, and that because of his current form, he could not make a contact as he needed to. Theona had volunteered us to make the contact for him and gotten the rendezvous information. We slipped into the night and headed outside town, almost an hour away to a tree that Theona had been directed too. There we would wait for two hours and having seen nothing of interest, we headed back to the inn so we could slip in and rest for the next day.

This pattern continued each night up until our last evening there, when we found a small piece of paper tucked into a bough of the tree. We returned to Everlund and slipped the note under the door of Rand Tallwood’s shop and then returned to our rooms.

I didn’t mind getting out of the cramped room, though our work seemed to be designed to get us as far out of town as possible in one night. I guess I just worried too much. I did however get to know Theona much better with all our time to talk privately. She seems pretty driven to find artifacts, though she kept alluding to one in particular that she was looking for. I’m still not sure what exactly it is, but perhaps she will trust me enough to tell me someday. I almost told her about the Tiger, but I decided that it would probably not be the best time to ask her. We already have more than enough on our plates.

We left from Everlund the next morning. Drake conversed with the rest of the group, and we decided that it would probably be best to spend the nights traveling, in hopes of making it to Silverymoon without having to stop. We did manage to do just that, though not at all in the fashion that we wanted to.

As we were traveling I saw a flickering light on the path ahead. Worried that there may be a trap ahead, I took Tassar with me to investigate. We cam upon two burning wagons, and out of the snow rose four zombies! Tassar tried to engage while still on his dog, and only managed to drop himself onto the ground. I used my bow to stick arrow after arrow into the zombies, and Deitricha and Theona came running forward soon after to help us out. Deitricha channeled divine power through herself and the zombies lumbered away from the show.

We were determining what to do when the zombies overcame their fear of the divine and returned to harass us. This time we destroyed them with force of arms. We put out the fires on the two wagons that were blocking our path and moved them out of the way.

We then heard a horn blast, which was surely a call to arms. Not far away from us we saw a dozen or so mounted orcs led by a huge one, riding a dire wolf. Tassar fired a potshot into the big orc, and buried and arrow into his chainmail. As we fled, Tassar shouted out his name, telling the orc (who we believe is Grom), who had injured him (if of course he had). It is amazing how little Tassar thinks about his actions sometimes.

We traveled as quickly as we could back to Silverymoon, and though we were safe from the orcish warband, our trials were not over yet.

We had forgotten the orcish form of Dante while we were out of town, but once we had returned to civilization, we discovered that Dante was looked upon with suspicion and mistrust. So much for this city being accepting for all races.

Antonio had disappeared and reappeared a few minutes later bearing all of us silver ale mugs. I put mine in my backpack, and though I appreciate the thought, I doubt I will ever use it.

We decided to split up and rest, and meet in the morning. I noticed that Dante had gone with Theona, and while I do trust that he isn’t really an orc, I am still not sure that I trust him, especially around Theona. I didn’t wander too far that evening, as I wanted to be close in case something did happen, but I didn’t stay the entire time, knowing that anyone intently watching just one home would arouse suspicion. I did see Theona poke her head out once, and I think she may have seen me. I hope she doesn’t think that I am stalking her….

We met the next morning at the Bright Blade Brandished for breakfast. After which we headed to the Grey Castle Estate to collect the remainder of the pay. Antonio suggested we take Dante to an associate of his and get him returned to normal. I went with the group and watched Dante’s transformation back to his human form, then slipped quietly away to be alone.

I traveled out of the city for a little while again. It just feels so much better to be out of the hustle and bustle of things. I knew I had to return to find my friends, but the few hours I took was time for myself, and I am sure that any of them would have understood.

I returned into the city a little after dusk and wandered back to the Bright Blade Brandished. As I was approaching, I saw Antonio, Tassar and Deitricha dragging Dante and Theona out of the tavern. I followed at a distance, as I knew that something was up. I realized what they were trying to do when they raised Theona and Dante up into Theona’s house. I couldn’t believe what they were doing. After they left, I climbed up into Theona’s house, and found Theona and Dante in a heap on the floor. I picked up Theona and laid her down on her bearskin rug. I prayed that she would be the first up, but did not feel I had time to wait around to find out.

I headed back to the Bright Blade Brandished to find Tassar alone passed out on the table. I didn’t see anyone else, and assumed that they must have gone home. I figured the best plan for me would be to watch out for him if he left so I found a good vantage spot away from normal view.

Not to long after I had climbed up to my vantage point. I saw Tassar wander around the building, apparently to relieve himself. He didn’t see Antonio’s father, or the six other men, who followed him into the alley, then proceeded to knock him around a bit. After a short conversation, one of the men knocked him unconscious.

I left the vantage point as quickly and quietly as I could, and rushed back to Theona’s house. Now that I think about it, I should have followed the group of guards to find out where they were taking Tassar, but I though that if I were fast enough, Theona and I would have been able to stop the guards.

When I arrived back at Theona’s house, she was still passed out. I decided I would pull Dante into her side room, just in case he should wake up first. After I did that I began to pace, and not long after I did, Theona started to stir. Once she was up, I told her that we needed to get going, because one of our friends was in trouble….

Kythorn 21, 1373, Silverymoon

We left from Theona’s house, and returned to the alleyway behind the Bright Blade Brandished. I started looking for signs of which way the guard went, but I am still not good at tracking movements in cities. Fortunately Theona found some blood and drag marks on the ground, and we were off. We managed to make our way through the city, following drag marks, and blood. After several hours, the sun was starting to rise, and we found finally Tassar, hanging upside down in an old abandoned warehouse.

Tassar has really pissed the guards off, though I am unsure why he has. He is drunk and disorderly an awful lot, but he has never (to my knowledge) done anything that would warrant the type of beating they gave him. He was hanging upside down and almost every bit of exposed flesh was either covered in dry blood or turned a blackish-purple color. If I had known the guards were going to do this, I would have stepped in and tried to stop them.

Theona splashed some water on Tassar, and he stirred a little; I was amazed that after all the beating he had taken he could even be alive. Theona tried to give him a healing potion, and though it did make him look a little better, he still looked absolutely horrid. Theona said she thought that we should take him to a temple to be healed, and though I was wary of taking Tassar outside, I had to agree that clerical care would be much better for him, than us trying to give him healing potions. I said that we should not take him to Tymora’s temple, as surely Deitricha would find out what happened. Theona suggested taking him to the Temple of Silver Stars. She had done some sort of job for them once before, and thought they may be nice enough to help for the little bit of gold we had between us.

Theona took Tassar out and I followed at a distance, hoping that no one would take to much notice to the injured Halfling. We made our way across town with little more than stares of wonderment, and the Clerics were most helpful. They healed Tassar for the small donation that Theona and I were able to give, and after he was healed Tassar made a donation as well.

We returned to meet at the Bright Blade Brandished, and it seemed everyone was in a dire mood. Tassar kept muttering things about “Mr. Bucket,” Antonio has had some sort of fight with his father, and Deitricha seemed upset as well. Antonio wanted to leave as soon as possible, and as we made our few remaining preparations to leave Theona returned o her hose to get Dante. She returned without Dante, saying that he had left without even leaving a note.

We left town then, and finally free of the city walls, it seemed that the whole mood of the party lightened. We made good time on our way to check a tower that Theona had heard about while we were in Silverymoon. But we were delayed when we came upon a dead cow in the middle of the road. Antonio insisted that it was the work of a vampire, but he could not find any lurking about in the bright sunlight. I know there are a few other blood sucking creatures that exist, so I was not quite ready to make a judgment about what was responsible then.

We traveled on, coming upon a town. Theona wanted to stop to let someone know about the cow, so we headed for a nearby farm. Tassar was sure he smelled pie coming from a house, and bolted off with Deitricha following, to keep him out of trouble. We found two men working in a field, who we told about the cow. They thanked us for finding her, and told us that there had been a few cows lost on other farms as well.

We headed into town for a bit of lunch, and Theona started a conversation with an older human man named Marl. She asked him about the tower and the old guy went on for forever and eventually one by one we left. After several hours, Theona finally made it out of the inn.

After collecting Theona, we headed out of town, and into a chain of events that left one party member dead and one creature quite charred.

We found a set of huge footprints while we were walking and Tassar, in his ultimate wisdom, decided that we should follow the tracks. At the end of the footprints we found a huge troll which Tassar decided needed to be killed, he ran up to attack it, an distance we knew this could only turn out badly, we prepared to help him. Theona and I both loosed bolts and arrows into it, and Tassar attacked it. Antonio claimed that fire would be the most effective thing against it, and Deitricha threw a flask of oil on it, following Antonio’s advice.

Theona then shouted to Antonio to light he bolt and she would shoot the troll, setting it on fire, but Antonio decided it would be better to poke the troll to set it on fire. The troll, enraged that Antonio had lit him on fire, reciprocated by ripping Antonio in half. The troll then expired.

We were left with a problem of what to do with Antonio’s body. We didn’t want to just leave it to rot, so we decided it would be best to take it to his parents. We returned to Silverymoon uneventfully and Deitricha and Theona went to let the family know what had happened. Tassar and I stayed behind so that we would not be creating any scenes, especially with Tassar’s reputation.

We will be leaving again soon I am sure. I don’t think Antonio’s death has deterred us from traveling onward…

Kythorn 23, 1373, Ruined Tower

Theona left us for a short while to check her house from anything Dante may have left. We sat around not really being able to leave, but still quite ready to be gone from Silverymoon.

After a short while she returned, with a strange new character in tow. He looks human, though his silvery eyes suggest that he is a little more than just that. Theona introduced him as William and told me that he was a mage. I found this odd as he had armor and carried a mace, but for now I will let it pass.

Theona and I went to get Tassar, who had been hiding out to keep out of trouble. We found him paying his rent to Lady Brenin, and when we returned to meet the rest of our party, Tassar met William for the first time. I don’t think it went too badly, as Tassar only nicknamed him “new guy,” and demanded that William buy him ale.

We got ready to leave town, and because William had a Warhorse, we decided in order to get along more quickly we would ride our pack horses. As I expected, Tassar got himself up with Deitricha, but I hadn’t been thinking about our remaining party member, until she hopped onto the horse behind me. I don’t know why, but I tensed up a bunch. I reprimanded myself for being so stupid. I didn’t think Theona was hitting on me. She’s independent enough, and a city dweller at that, why would she like someone who is far more comfortable in the wilderness, like me? But I still can’t be completely sure. While we were traveling the horse made a small misstep and Theona grabbed onto me a little tighter so she didn’t loose her balance and fall off. I would have just written it off as just that…but I thought she held on longer than was necessary.

I’m not sure whether or not to pursue it. I know I need to approach her about it, but I don’t know how I can, or even when! Not to mention I could just be reading into her little action entirely too much…

Blah…my head is starting to hurt thinking about it…on with the day…

We had a relatively uneventful trip to the tower, stopping in White haven to rest overnight before continuing to the tower. We stabled our horses in White Haven, so that if we end up in the tower for an extended period of time, nothing will come by and have an easy horse-snack.

We headed to the tower, and once we were close to it, we heard a wolf howl. William started to whine about how much he hated wolves, and I began to wonder if he was even a mage. Maybe he was just a coward who wanted to get some treasure at the expense of others…

We did spot a wolf watching us from near the tower, but he quickly disappeared. Then shortly after, a dozen wolves appeared, bearing down on us. Theona and I ran to the tower, but everyone else ended up getting caught by a wolf. Tassar had been knocked from his dog Otto, and he and Deitricha were both fighting from the ground, and William was unconscious and being dragged away from the battle by a wolf.

I left the safety of the tower to rescue William; I couldn’t let our party kill two mages in less than 3 days. The wolf dropped dead with one arrow from my bow, and I bandaged William enough that he seemed to be stable. Not long after, the wolves fled, realizing that we were more than a match for them.

Deitricha healed those who had been injured and Tassar made a wolf stew. After eating William wandered into the tower to investigate it. I started wondering why he was wandering off alone, especially into a “haunted” tower, when Theona Admonished him for trying to wander off alone. I can tell William is not used to adventuring yet, Though I am pretty sure Antonio would have done the same thing…I know mages who wandered off from their parties ended up dead. My mother was always wary of being alone, and she had many stories of fellow mages who were too foolish to live very long.

We decided that we would then head into the tower, down a staircase that William had found. Theona started down first, until Tassar, William and Otto slid by her on the slippery steps. Once at the bottom of the steps, everyone ran in their own direction, exploring the ruins, until we heard Theona scream for help. I ran back as quickly as I could to find a needle-nosed insect with bat-like wings attached to Theona’s neck. Deitricha killed the creature, and a bunch more dropped from the ceiling, attacking us. We managed to fend them off, but not before both theona and Deitricha had lost a lot of blood. William actually managed to kill one, though it exploded all over Deitricha and Theona. I think that they may have been the cause of all the dead cows, though I am not entirely sure.

Kythorn 29, 1373, The City of Doors

Rosorc started heading up the street in search of an inn, and the rest of us quickly fell into step with him. We came upon a building that had a bed crudely drawn on the sign, and when we poked our heads in we saw rows of beds lining the walls. It looked worse than any normal common room, and we decided that it would be best not to stay in such a run down (and smelly) place.

We headed back out and up the curving street. Shortly after, a gnome offered help to William for finding an inn, which was several “alleys” over. We convinced William that we could probably find our way on our own, and left without taking any help from the gnome.

We did note a huge black spider-shaped building, and though I was not sure, it looked to me like a building that would be dedicated to Lolth. I was not exactly interested in heading that way, and neither was the rest of the group, so we headed away from the building.

Shortly after we left the gnome, we came upon a horrific sight: A zombie standing in the middle of the street. Theona and Rosorc decided that they would inspect it, but I did not want to get to close. The zombie was covered in tons of papers, just nailed or stapled to its rotting flesh. Theona said that most of them were just notices. It appears that the zombie was a bulletin board. While we were standing near it, someone said ‘I wonder where we could find an in,’ and the zombie pointed back in the direction we came. We then asked it where we could find a nice inn. It pointed up. This led me to notice the strangest thing about this city.

I looked up and saw above us…rooftops. It was almost like I was looking up into a mirror through the fog. I could tell that they were not the same buildings, however, as even from the distance (up?) I could tell they were nicer. I am guessing (because of the upward curve that we were walking on) that we are in a city that is in the middle of a ring.

When Deitricha realized how we were situated, she began to freak out. I suggested that she hang on to someone else and not look towards the center of the ring. So Deitricha held on to different people in the party (depending on who she was closest too). Theona also helped out by passing around a flask of ale.

Once Tassar had finished the ale he threw the empty flask at a drunk, who was calling for a swig from a nearby alley.

Our travels took us out of the grimy slums and into an industrial area, and after a short while, into nicer surroundings all together. We found an inn with baths available (called “The Alabaster Mermaid”), for we were all still covered in blood from the Hells, save Tassar, who had been carried over most of them.

I knew we all really wanted to get cleaned up, so I paid for our baths. Theona took a room to herself, Rosorc and William took one and Deitricha and Tassar bolted into the other. I had no intention of crowding in with Rosorc and William; I figured Deitricha and Tassar were doing something private, and I figured Theona would have been offended had I invaded her privacy, so I waited for one of the available baths to clear out before I went in to clean myself up.

After I had I returned to the main inn, where we bought dinners and picked at each others’ meals trying the food that were popular to this plane of existence. I was feeling a little beat, and I wanted some time to think, I paid for rooms so that each of us had a place to sleep. There were six of us and each room could fit two of us, so I got three rooms, assuming that we were comfortable enough with each other to share rooms. I guess that fighting to keep each other alive isn’t a companionship builder, as I heard some grumbles about room sharing. But if no one like it they can just buy their own rooms. I am more comfortable when not in and inn anyway....

Not long after I had retired to my room, Theona came in and asked me if I would mind splitting up the coin that we had found before we bounced ourselves into Hell. I agreed and we did, then I returned back to the same room. I was surprised to see Theona come in once again, but when she dropped her stuff and hopped onto one of the beds, I realized that she had chosen to stay in the same room as me.

We spent a few minutes talking, and decided that we should go out and sell the magical items we had acquired after we had rested, since our rest took little time compared to our companions. We rested, and left early; it was still dim outside when we left the in. Theona left a note with the clerk at the front desk, so that our companions would know where we had gone.

The market place was entirely to crowded for my liking, but Theona passed through it like a deer through the brush of the Cold Wood. We managed to sell everything we had intended too, getting hopefully exactly what it was worth.

As we were heading out of the market I saw a small blue cat for sale in a cage entirely too small for it. When I took a closer look I realized it was a tressym, a winged cat which has an amazing intelligence. I knew immediately that it shouldn’t be trapped the way it was, so I drug Theona over to the stand and bought the animal. After I bought it I let it out of the cage and tried to cast a spell that would allow me to talk to it.

My father told me that once I was powerful enough, I would be able to cast a few simple spells that would make my travels as a ranger easier. I thought that it would be a good time to try, and I did. I wasn’t sure that it would work, and the tressym just stared at me for a moment. Then I felt a little different, like I had something I wanted to say even though I did not have any idea what I should be saying to a tressym. Then she spread her wings and said, “This feels so much better to be able to spread my wings. Thank you!”

I realized that my spell had indeed worked, not sure how long I had left I asked the tressym if she had a name. She said that she didn’t, so I told her that I would need to think about it, but I would give her a name.

I also remember my father telling me that once I could cast spells I would also be able to ask an animal to become a companion of mine. He told me that the animal would be bound to me by divine power, and it would be able to help my work, whether as a scout or a protector.

There was something about the animal that I found amazing to me. I know that I am partial to cats; my mother has a small black housecat that she named Kismet, and my father has a panther that he named Malnamé. But this cat had wings and was blue, not black like either of my parents’ cats or even a normal color for the woods. But all the same, I felt that I wanted this cat to be with me for more than just a few days, until I could return it to a more normal home.

I asked the tressym if it would like to be my companion, and to my amazement she decided that it wished to be. I know she was very happy to be free of the cage that was entirely too small, and she was probably free of a horrible fate also (seeing as the sign on the cage said “Tressym: the next best thing to chicken!”), but I wasn’t sure she would make that kind of commitment to someone who she had just met.

We returned to “The Alabaster Mermaid” and collected the rest of our friends, who were now up and about. After we ate a quick breakfast we gave everyone a share of their loot, we headed back to the market for yet more spending! After an hour or so, everyone had bought what they wanted.

We then left the market and headed for the clerk ward in search of the Hall of Records, so maybe we could find a portal out of this town and back home. The clerk at the Hall of Records directed us to the Hall of Information. The clerk at the Hall of Information, directed us to the Office of Portal Registry, and the clerk in the office, a human named Marxel, gave us a huge stack of papers to fill out.

I set to work on that, with Deitricha reading over my shoulder and helping me to answer the questions. I finally got finished and turned in the paperwork, paying the five gold processing fees, and the clerk informed me that they had closed and we should come back the next day.

I admit I had spent most of the time playing with my new friend, who I had decided to name Nianque. But Theona and I had been sticking together most of the time since we had arrived in this strange city. On our way back, I saw the young boy coming with flowers, and I knew something odd was going on…

He called her “Lady Theona” and gave her a bundle of roses with a mithril chain wrapped around them. She looked at me as if I had gotten them for her and showed me the card. “…from a friend…” I know we were both looking at each other very oddly. She was looking oddly at me because she thought I had gotten the flowers for her, and I was looking at her oddly because I couldn’t figure out who would want to give Theona flowers. Then Rosorc was there, braiding the chain into Theona’s hair. Well, I realized who sent the flowers, much to both of our amazement. Theona seemed upset, and I think that she made an impression on Rosorc that she had not intended to.

We returned to the inn, and Rosorc invited Theona to have dinner with him. I recognized that he intended to have dinner alone with her, so I paid for another night in my room and went up to rest. I was happy to have the time alone as well, as spending so much time without seeing any nature is kind of depressing.

Not long after I had been in my room I heard something small hit the window. Then I heard it again. The noise continued I ignored it at first, until I realized that it had to be someone trying to get my attention. I went and opened the window…which oddly enough had little splatters of blood all over it. I opened it, expecting a prank, and down below was Theona. I could see her hands and forearms were covered with blood, and I realized that the vine that covered the walls was a security device as well as a decoration.

She asked me for help with Rosorc, though I still don’t know why. She is far more intelligent than I am, and she is the one who deals with people all the time, not me. I told her that I didn’t know what kind of help I could be, and she left the alley, even more upset than she had come into it.

She never returned to the room, and I guessed that she must have decided to sleep in her own room this night. I hope she is not angry at me, but I don’t know how to deal with people. I suppose I might have been able to deal with a wolf, but then again, I’m sure she could have too, as it wouldn’t have been romantically interested in her.

I tried not to think about it too much, though I did leave the window open so that Nianque could get in and out. I don’t want her to make a mess inn the room! But I had an uneventful night, and the next morning went down and waited for everyone to assemble so we could return to the Office of Portal Registry, and hopefully get home.

Everyone but Theona had met up, and we began to wonder where she might be. Deitricha decided that she would go find her and after a little while, she returned with Theona, who looked very upset.

We headed back to the Office of Portal Registry, and were greeted by a different clerk, this time not a human. I was worried that we would be filling out paperwork once again, but he managed to find the file we had filled out the day before and gave us the information about a portal that would take us back to Silverymoon or to Toril at the very least. It was an intermittent portal, and only worked every 32 days. Of course, today was the day it was working, so we had to hurry! We also found out that we would need a black rose to make it work, and Rosorc said he knew of a place where we could find one.

We hired a boy named Bob to guide us to the portal which was in the Hive district. Rosorc got a black rose and handed two red roses to Theona, who blushed, and looked very upset, though she did not say anything. I wanted to say something to get her to smile, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. I don’t know that she really wants to talk to me though, after the way I treated her last night. She has not said anything to me today. Actually, she hasn’t even looked at me. I hope I can do something to make up for last night.

Bob stopped near a hole in a wall, and said that he dared not go any further, we thanked him and headed down into the depths. This place still has not made me any happier. It is less crowded, but there is not any open space.

After a few minutes of following the twisting tunnels, we came upon four zombies that had no paper attached to them, nor did they seem to have any interest in giving directions. Rosorc charged two that were further away, but two moved forward to block the rest of us from moving out of the narrow hallway we were in.

Tassar attacked one of the zombies, and I fired two arrows at it, though only one of them hit. Tassar finished it off and managed to get out of the way enough that I could pull my greatsword and help him in melee. We quickly killed the other blocking our way, and discovered that Rosorc had killed two others clearing the room of enemies.

I was sure that we would be facing more before we found the portal, and hopefully we would be able to make it out in time….

Kythorn 30, 1373, Ancient Dwarven Stronghold

After killing the first four zombies, we moved on into a room lined with stone crypts. Rosorc charged off, hacking into the risen undead bodies. Theona and I tried to use our ranged weapons to take down the zombies, but our arrows and bolts only stuck in them, and did not slow them in the slightest. Deitricha can use divine power very effectively against the undead, fortunately. She cried out to her goddess and the zombies crumbled into dust.

Once the room was cleared, we ended up splitting up and exploring the ruins. I found a sarcophagus with a pile of coins in it. I called Theona over, in hope that I might be ale to talk to her. She came over and began digging through the dust and remains. I know she did not realize that I had intended to talk to her. She stopped and looked at me, obviously confused about why I had called her over.

“Theona,” I said, “I need to tell you about-“

I was cut off by a yelp, and I knew that someone was in trouble. I rushed of telling Theona that we could talk later. I reached Tassar to find him fending off several misshapen heads, which had wings and burning green eyes. I pulled out my sword to strike one, but it let out a gut-wrenching shriek, and I found myself unable to move. Tassar continued to fight the creatures; eventually killing them all before they could harm me in anyway.

Theona soon appeared at my side and directed Tassar to go and help the others fight whatever monsters they were fighting. Tassar ran off, getting the attention of several zombies as he ran. Theona fired off a crossbow bolt and got the attention of the zombie that she hit. It began shambling towards us, and Theona stuck several crossbow bolts into it. She kept herself between the zombie and me, and it was almost on us when I felt strength return to my muscles, and brought my sword around, slicing through the zombie with a satisfying squelch, and dumping it in two pieces on the ground.

Deitricha came into the room and told us that Rosorc had found the portal home. I know that Theona did not want to leave until we had collected any treasure that was in the catacombs. I took her hand and whispered in her ear, “Our friends need us more than any treasure.” She reluctantly gave in and we heading to the portal and stepped through.

We found ourselves standing in a large hall. Dwarven stonework filled the halls and I could see Rosorc reading the walls in awe. Apparently the dwarf misses his home; I am sure I saw him tear up as he read the stories.

Rosorc thought that we were in a lost hall of the dwarves, and as we explored further, we determined that it indeed was. Family banner adorned the walls. Rosorc read stories that he said were merely legend in his home.

We thought that the fortress had fallen to Orcs, as I found some faint tracks of orcish war boots. It worried me that there were orcs in the halls, because if a random orc patrol found us, the whole mountain of orcs would come down on us.

After a while we all tired of exploring the ruins and decided to rest. Rosorc took the first watch and Theona volunteered for the last. I stayed near her while she was meditating, which drew repeated glares from Rosorc, though I have no understanding of why.

I meditated during the second watch, and when I had finished, I quietly walked over to Theona to have the conversation that I had promised her. I quietly crossed to her and sat down. I explained to her that I did not mean to be as callous as I was the night before. I had assumed that Theona would be able to deal with Rosorc better than I would ever be able to. Apparently I was wrong.

Theona accepted my apology, and showed me a scroll that Rosorc had given her. It was a love letter. Then she asked me what I thought she should do. I told her that wearing the mithral chain probably meant something important, and that perhaps she shouldn’t wear it.

She took the chain out of her hair and wrapped it around one of the silver mugs. Then I noticed that the mug did not have her name on it. My name was on the mug!!

Theona just smirked and tucked it back into her pack.

I returned to my gear and found the mug in it. I was sure of the name before I even saw it. Theona Galanodel.

I wonder what that means....

Tassar got up soon after I had put my gear back into my backpack. After a quick breakfast, we headed through the mountain halls. After a few rooms Tassar through open the doors to a room filled with orcs. Tassar charged forward with Rosorc in tow, screaming battle cries through the halls...

We have now spent two full days in this underground place, and I am getting no more used to the closeness of the walls than I was at the beginning of this little adventure. I could really go for a few days time above ground, preferably in the woods somewhere.

I think we have only explored a few rooms, but what we have found in those rooms, and our group’s way of dealing with them has added a lot to the amount of time we have spent here.

Generally, Rosorc and Tassar try to run ahead of the group so they are ready to fight whatever may jump out at us. Of course that also means that they set off any traps that are in their path too. This is all well and good, but Theona could certainly find them and maybe even disable them without setting them off.

Tassar still tries to make as much noise as possible when fighting, by either shouting his name or “Tempus” or the number of kills he has. Rosorc has been humoring him and keeping track as well, though I think Rosorc has the advantage as of right now. Anyway, I really wish Tassar wouldn’t b yelling so much right now. We need to get out of here as quickly and quietly as possible. Tassar’s yelling is much more likely to bring a mountain of orcs down on us. Tassar also claims to have found Drow here, though hopefully we will not encounter any.

Deitricha has been saddled with the role of medic because of our careless, or maybe I should say suicidal fighters. She has used nothing but healing spells since we got here from Sigil, and she has done little fighting as well. I know she is a capable fighter, as I have seen her fight before, but she has had little opportunity to show her skills here.

Rosorc is an amazing fighter himself, which is no surprise. Fighting comes as naturally to him as flying does to Nianque. He still needs to be less careless, though. He has not had much more than a trap or two go off on him, but all it takes is one trap to kill. I would hate to lose such a valuable adventurer in such a careless mishap.

William has proven to be a very adept mage. He seems to understand that he will not be any match to someone in melee, and as a result, has been staying away from close combat and lobbing spells in to help us out. I know I was worried that his over eagerness would get him killed, but he seems to have learned where he fits in to be most effective.

Theona is still a source of confusion to me. She is a capable fighter, and very good at hitting people where it can quickly take them out of a fight. I have seen her use magic items, though she has no training at all to use them, and I am sure that if she were given the time to look, she would be able to find and disable almost every trap that we came across. The group seems to ignore her abilities as a whole though, and everyone seems content that way. I don’t see why she doesn’t put everyone in their place and tell them to stay behind her. Maybe we would be able to adventure about for more than an hour because we have run out of (healing) spells.

Perhaps it is the feelings that I have developed for Theona that are causing me to write like she is undervalued. I know that something has changed between us, though I am still unsure what it is that has changed. Even in these caves I feel more at peace when I am with her…almost like I am meant to be with her. Perhaps I am and the bond has not formed entirely between us.

I shall ask Solonor Thelandira tonight in my meditations. Perhaps he shall give me some guidance….

We are now outside of the Dwarven fortress, though out exit was less than joyful.

We actually headed deeper into mountain first led by Tassar, which seems to be a trend that is always leading to disaster. Rosorc decided he would head off in the opposite direction. Theona and I stayed together to see where everyone else went. Deitricha and William followed Tassar, so I decided that we had better go with the larger group. I was concerned for Rosorc’s safety, however, so Theona and I lagged behind a good distance. I also figured this would help to protect us from traps that Tassar would be sure to trip.

Tassar wondered deeper into the fortress, throwing open any doors he found. Of course the first door he opened he found a Red Wizard of Thay! The Red Wizard had an assistant and four Gnoll bodyguards, who Tassar immediately attacked.

I remember very well what my mother told me about Red Wizards: Red Wizards are wizards of great power who have no scruples. They will do anything to get what they seek. Beware should you come upon one.

The Red Wizard was not our only trouble, however. Rosorc came clattering down the hall shouting about Drow, who were chasing him. I stepped around the corner and took a shot at one with my bow, and saw something even more terrifying: an Eye Tyrant. Rosorc Dragged me back, and we prepared to fight the Drow who would be surely coming around the corner. The Hallway then became a mass of black. I realized that one of the Drow had cast it so that we wouldn’t be able to ambush them. Rosorc and I then felt our way quickly down the hall and into the room that Tassar had charged into.

William had fallen in the confusion, and was missing. We cleared the room of gnolls and the Red wizard grabbed his assistant and winked out of existence, much like a teleport spell would do.

With the exit of the Red Wizard, we were able to turn our attention to the Drow trying to force their way through the door. Theona slammed the door in their faces and I held it while Rosorc pinned it with a few pitons.

The hallway grew quiet, so we opened the door again and looked for William, who was still missing. Rosorc peeked into the room that was across from us and saw the Eye Tyrant again. We decided that we should try and attack it en masse, so we gathered around the door with bows and crossbows and Deitricha swung the door open. Both the Eye Tyrant and our rag tag little group fired everything we had into each other. Rosorc then charged into the room to fight the creature. The Drow we had been fighting appeared throughout the room. One shot Rosorc, and he fell to its poison.

I continued trying to fight the Eye Tyrant at Range while Tassar engaged the Drow fighters and Theona traded shots with a Drow Sorcerer. I became the Eye Tyrant’s target, and received a sizzling broadside from it. I was staggered by the amount of punishment I received, but Solonor Thelandira’s hand guided my aim and I put my last arrow through the cursed things central eye, killing it.

Detricha healed me quite a bit and I helped Tassar to kill the rest of the Drow fighters. The Drow Sorcerer disappeared before we could kill him, however.

I closed the door and leaned against it. I could hardly move. Theona was not nearly as exhausted as me and threw herself into my arms. I am sure we would have ended up as a tangled mess of limbs had I not been using the door for support.

After minute the exhaustion wore off and we discussed what we should be doing. Theona begged that we return to the place we had arrived by portal and all the non-elves reluctantly agreed. We took a rubbing of the stone tablets that the Red Wizard had been studying and made our way back to the ornate doors in the hallway we had appeared in. Theona made sure the door had not been trapped than pushed them open reveling a huge room resembling a foyer. There were two slits in the ceiling, which Rosorc said would most likely be used to dump boiling oil on intruders. Tassar ran across the room and flung open another set of ornate doors, revealing open sky!

Theona and I breathed sighs of relief and we set of on the ancient Dwarven road. I ranged ahead so that I could better spot and provide warning of anything that we may come upon. My ability to move quietly and keep to shadows also pays off allowing me to get away unseen to warn others of coming trouble.

I managed to find trouble not long after we had set out. A band of Orcs, along with a couple of dire boars was heading up the path, heading towards the Dwarven hold. I returned to the rest of the party quickly and told everyone to hide. We hid behind boulders much like we had done in the Hells, but this time it did not work nearly as well. The Orcs spotted William and Rosorc immediately, and charged up the hill after them. I lost track of where everyone was during the battle because we all broke cover and fought for our lives. I think Rosorc and I each killed a half dozen Orcs, but we were both looking worse for wear after the fight. One of the dire boars knocked me off my feet, and I only managed to hold on because I was able to heal myself with my wand.

William did not make it through the battle unfortunately, he tried to help us by casting spells, but he attracted the attention of to many for him to handle, and was crushed to death by a boar.

We buried William and piled the Orc bodies in the road, serving as a warning to any other patrols. But a warning to what? We are in no shape to fight, and my biggest concern is finding a hiding place well off the road where we can rest undisturbed.

Two days have past since the battle with the orcs. We spent our time resting and Deitricha used what magic her goddess blessed her with. I found food for us to survive on while we rested, and we decided that we would be able to leave the next morning.

While we were searching for food (Theona had accompanied me to “help,” fortunately she can move just as quietly as I can), we came upon the sound of several creatures bickering in a guttural tongue. I recognized the tongue as giant, and Theona and I slipped quietly away. When we returned to camp, I told everyone that we had best be quiet around camp and slip away in the morning. Tassar demanded to know why, and I mistakenly told him what Theona and I had heard. He decided that it would be best to spend the night spying on them. I sent Nianque with him so that she could return to us quickly and let us know if something had happened to Tassar.

After Tassar and Nianque had been gone for about an hour, I decided that I had better go to check to make sure that they had not been captured or killed. Theona opted to come with me again (I am beginning to think she is looking for any reason to slip away from our acquaintances), and we set out to where we had heard the voices before. We found Tassar’s armor, laying on the ground and the naked halfling watching the camp intently.

Now I understand that he can move about more quietly without his armor slowing him down, but I cannot understand why that stupid halfling would be so willing to give up ALL his protection, especially when he is spying on creatures that would probably kill him if they saw him. I did creep up far enough to see what the creatures were: ogres.

I had had enough foolishness by then, so I brought Nianque back to camp with me. When I returned, I found Rosorc and Deitricha in a heated debate about whether or not Rosorc should be going out to help Tassar.

In all my life I have not dealt with anything this foolhardy. Even the Barbarians are intelligent enough not to go picking fights with everything that lives near them. If Rosorc had gone out to where Tassar was, we would have had to fight the ogres, because unless Rosorc is completely still, his armor makes enough noise to wake the dead.

Fortunately after Theona and I returned to camp Rosorc gave up trying to go out and see what Tassar was doing. We rested the rest of the night uneventfully; Tassar came back into camp (wearing his armor) just before dawn.

We were in good enough shape to travel, so we set out along the road, towards the Moonwood. The day’s travel was uneventful, other than some footprints of a passing giant. I opted not to find the giant that made them and continued on. I found a well-concealed camp for us to spend the night in. I went out to search for food and had a much easier time. I only spent a few hours out, and I managed to get enough for all of us to eat. When I returned Rosorc decided that it would be a good idea if he started attacking a tree with his axe.

I feel like Theona and I are the only two in this party who have any idea whatsoever how to stay “safe” while adventuring. Everyone else seems to assume that Deitricha is a walking bandage. So Tassar and Rosorc will walk blindly into any situation, because surely the cleric can make it “all better.”

I feel bad for Theona. I know she can tell how upset I am, and I think it is affecting her. But the only way I see this getting better anytime soon is if the fighters manage to stumble into something that kills them and not the rest of us, or if we make it back to civilization, and decide to go our separate ways.

Rosorc’s tree chopping brought the attention of two dire wolves, and later a druid. The Dire wolves attacked, one dragging Rosorc to the ground and the other attacking Theona, knocking her over.

I had resolved to stay out of the fight because of Rosorc’s senseless actions, but when Theona was knocked to the ground I realized that Solonor Thelandira had blessed me with an answer to the question I had asked.

I was filled with a sense of dread that I have never felt in all my life. I immediately abandoned my resolution, and ran to help Theona. I killed the wolf, and Rosorc and Tassar dealt with the other.

We had no more than stopped fighting, and a man stepped into the clearing. His peaceful demeanor and his symbol of Mielikki marked him as a non-combatant.

He introduced himself as Beowulf, a druid in the service to Mielikki. He also called forth a companion: a black wolf he had named Shadow. We exchanged greetings, and after a few minutes of conversation, the group decided that it would benefit everyone to have another man of nature traveling with us.

We rested the remainder of the night and awoke the next morning finding Tassar missing and a note left in Dietricha’s bag saying that he needed to pay his rent, so he was heading back to Silverymoon on his own.

I think Tassar has gone over the edge. He knew we were headed back to Silverymoon. I can’t understand why he thinks he could get there faster than us. As I recall, he was the one who was huffing and puffing to keep pace with us!

We quickly packed up our gear and headed down the road. I easily found his tracks and followed them along the path. After a while we came upon a place where there were signs of a struggle, and Tassar’s tracks disappeared. Fearing the worst, we followed the giant tracks off the path and through the rocky terrain to a cave. I found a defensible spot not to far from the cave, and while my companions were setting up a camp, I snuck up to the cave to investigate.

The entrance was well worn, so I could not estimate the number of creatures inhabiting the cave. I carefully snuck in, until I saw an ettin stirring some type of stew over a small fire. I returned to the rest of the group and told them what I had seen.

Beowulf turned into bat, and flew into the cave, scouting relatively unnoticed, or at least hopefully unnoticed. He returned safely, and told us that he had detected two ettins, a small storeroom, and a door deeper in the cave.

We decided that going in for Tassar would be the best course of action, rather than waiting and going in the next morning. Rosorc volunteered to be the bait, as he has had special training in fighting giants. The rest of us moved a safe distance from the cave and prepared ranged weapons.

Rosorc entered the cave, shouting for Tassar, and came running back out shortly after, with two ettins hot on his heals. The first ettin fell between Rosorc burying his axe in it and the fusillade from everyone else. We were not nearly as fortunate with the second ettin. Theona broke her bowstring and Rosorc stepped into my line of fire just as I let my arrow fly. The arrow slipped through armor and Rosorc staggered slightly (but not enough to dodge out of the way of an incoming blow).

We did manage to kill the second, and then we made our way into the cave. Theona and I were checking out the supplies when we heard Rosorc yell in surprise. He was being attacked by a door! The door actually turned out to be a mimic, but it did manage to get a good hold on Rosorc, Beowulf and myself at different points during the battle. Rosorc threw a flask of oil on it, and Theona lit one of my arrows, which I fired into the beast, lighting it on fire. I tried to shoot a second arrow at it, but I pulled too hard and my bowstring broke. The mimic succumbed to the fire a few seconds later, and we holed ourselves up in the storeroom, hoping that nothing else wandered out during the night.

Theona and I are still keeping watch over each other while we rest, and the others supplement our watch, or maybe we supplement theirs….

I did repair both of our bowstrings for the time being though, and I need to make bolts for Theona soon, as she doesn’t have that many left.

Theona is now stirring from her meditations, so I must do mine. I hope that we are able to find Tassar soon and get back to Silverymoon.

After resting in the cave’s makeshift storeroom, we prepared to head down further into the caves. After passing through the doorway, the walls became crude worked stone, not nearly as magnificent as that of the dwarves. Beowulf turned into a bat and scouted out the underground halls. He told us of four rooms: one with a large number of small humanoids, one with 3 humanoids of a human’s size, and one with a large humanoid standing guard. The last room was empty as far as he could tell.

We decided to head in the least defended direction. We covered our magical torches to avoid detection and tried to move as silently as possible. Unfortunately, as we were moving along in the dark we heard heavy footsteps approaching us, and I realized that we must have been heard. I uncovered my torch and dropped it to the ground to pull my sword and face whatever was coming.

The large humanoid turned out to be a minotaur, bearing down on us with a huge axe. We tried to get away from it and forced it to come into the hallway if it wanted to attack anyone. It stepped into the hall, and Rosorc and I immediately attacked it. The minotaur only managed to make one wild swing that passed well above my head before Rosorc buried his axe into its back and I almost split it in half with two sweeps of my massive sword.

The commotion brought the attention of all the other humanoids that Beowulf had found. I recovered my torch and clambered over the fallen minotaur down the hallway it had come from. I saw Rosorc had charged back into the fray with Deitricha in tow, away from Theona, Beowulf and I. When I saw goblins similar to the group he was fighting, I guessed that the hallways must form some kind of circle, and decided to fight through it and see if I could flank the force that Rosorc was fighting.

I cut my way into the next room, while Theona and Beowulf sent sling stones and arrows past me. We killed all the creatures in the room, and I moved into a hallway which led to the rear of a force trying to crowd into a hallway, I dropped my torch to the floor again to better use my sword, and charged. The goblins were shocked to see another fighting group attacking from behind and fell quickly.

Rosorc finished killing a gnoll and stepped into another hallway. When I stepped up I saw him fighting a gnome! I switched to my longbow, nocked two arrows and let them fly. They both thudded into the gnome’s chest, staggering it enough for Rosorc to finish him with one last swing.

We collected the equipment of the fallen creatures, and found that there was nothing that any of us really wanted. We set off to the last door in the halls, which hadn’t yet been opened.

We opened the door and charged into two very surprised looking bugbears. But then we had a turn to be surprised. A form appeared from nowhere with the air seeming to ripple out from it in a wave. As the wave hit me, I felt like I had been crushed by a massive weight and I could not think clearly, the last thing I remember seeing is a pink-skinned creature with four tentacles where a mouth would be on a person. The darkness stole my sight.

I awakened with my hands and feet chained together, though I could feel Nianque rubbing against me. I felt as if Theona were somewhere near me, though I could not see anything in the darkness.

Then a light came bobbing into view and I heard a familiar voice: Tassar!

“The Order thanks you for your assistance.” He said to the creature I had seen just before losing consciousness. He then handed a small pouch to the creature.

Nianque arched her back and hissed, drawing me out of my shock. I had thought that Tassar was a friend. If I see the halfling again, I don’t think I will hesitate in killing him.

The small group left, bugbear guards leading the way, leaving us in pitch blackness again. I heard a large amount of rattling chains, and then I heard Theona say she had gotten herself free from her bindings. For a while, I heard a huge amount of chain and door rattling, and then Theona came and unlocked my bindings.

Rosorc and I collected chains to use as make shift flails, and Theona and Deitricha picked up the thigh bones of long-dead prisoners who had been left to rot. We then moved up the hallway until Rosorc found a door. Theona started to pick the lock, but something opened it before she could unlock it herself. Rosorc struck out, and the cry and following thud as a body hit the ground suggested that one creature was out of the fight. Detricha cast a spell that filled the room with light, and I saw our hobgoblin foes. I stepped past Theona and swung my former bonds into another hobgoblin, felling him. The last took off running and Beowulf ordered Shadow to attack him. Shadow leapt out the door, hot on the heels of the fleeing hobgoblin. I heard a body hit the ground in the outside corridor, and almost immediately I heard a sickening thud and a yelp.

Rosorc and I picked up the weapons and shields of fallen hobgoblins. I found a ring of keys and tossed them to Theona, knowing she was more likely to be the one using them.

Beowulf called Shadow back to him and as soon as Shadow came into the room Rosorc shut the door and held it shut. I added my strength to help bar the door, and the women tried to find a way out. After what seemed like an eternity of holding the door shut, Theona shouted that she found a trapdoor hidden in the room opposite us. Rosorc and I waited for a thump on the door, then retreated into the room, shutting and barring its door.

The room was filled with bones and the ugliest looking statue that I had ever seen. We paid little attention to it though, as we squeezed into the trapdoor and into the hallway below. After following the passage a short distance, we found daylight.

As soon as we were out, Rosorc became adamant about returning in to the cave (which we spotted not far away). I felt that there was no reason whatsoever to return to the cave, even for equipment. Between Beowulf and I we would be able to find shelter and food. We would also be able to find a town where we could probably get help from a temple, or at east hire on to a caravan to get back to Silverymoon.

We argued about our options until Theona pointed out that we were getting nowhere and it would be best if we at least found some shelter for the night. I agreed and found us a place to rest that was well sheltered. After finding shelter I went to find us enough food to survive the night. Though there was little about, I did manage to find enough edible things to keep us from going hungry. Beowulf enchanted some berries that would provide a full meal if eaten.

The bitter cold of the night was extremely hard on most of us, though Theona was shivering so badly by morning that I was worried that the exposure would kill her. I cast a weather protection spell on her, and we decided (as a group) to at least see if we could collect the supplies we had found in the cave.

Once we had entered the cave, Beowulf turned into a bat once again, and scouted through the rooms until he had determined that no one was around. He signaled his findings, or lack thereof, to us and we headed back into the halls we had been captured in. We were able to collect a good number of weapons, and I felt at least a little better prepared to fight our tentacled friend.

We entered the room that we had been captured in, and found it to be empty. After a bit of searching, Theona found a secret door with a stairwell leading down. Beowulf (still as a bat) flew down and quickly came back up, warning us of ogres. Sure enough, two ogres came up the stairs. Rosorc and I managed to kill one between a javelin that I threw and the blows with the battleaxe that Rosorc had picked up. The second ogre took a little more time, but we killed it without too much trouble.

We clambered down the passageway to find the bedding area of the creatures that we had previously killed, and through a crushed door, we saw the rooms that we had just escaped from.

Theona searched around once again, and found another secret door. This one led into a small, but very luxurious bedroom. Part of our group charged in, finding the two bugbears and our tentacled friend. He must have used his attack again, as Theona stopped responding to everything around her, but the creature disappeared when no one else seemed to be hurt by his attack.

We were elated by our victory and looted the room. Theona found yet another secret door, but when we opened it, there was a great flash of light, and we found ourselves (minus Deitricha) in a small room with no apparent exits.

Almost as soon as we realized our predicament, the room began to quake then shattered around us as our prison was broken. We tumbled out onto the floor of the room that Theona had opened.

It was at that moment I felt something terribly wrong. I looked around to see blue feathers floating lazily to the floor. I rushed over to Nianque who was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. I picked her up and cradled her broken body. She looked up at me with her green eyes and managed a weak, rasping purr. She then closed her eyes and fell into the sleep that few have wakened from.

Deitricha blamed herself for Nianque’s death, and apologized for not being able to free us from the prison with magic. I could only nod my head in acceptance of her apology.

Rosorc suggested we take time to find Nianque a resting place and give her a proper burial. I agreed with him, and collected the blue feathers littering the floor.

We traveled part of the day, and found a precipice looking across what seemed to be all of Faerun. Each of us paid our respects to the fallen animal. I said a prayer taught to me by the Red Tiger tribe to bless the fallen and Theona gave an elven blessing which I remembered vaguely from my childhood. Deitricha and Beowulf each asked their patrons to bless Nianque in her new life. Rosorc recited a dwarven prayer blessing the fallen and calling for punishment on those who had taken her life.

I have kept some of the feathers that fell from Nianque’s body. I will keep one in my journal to remind me of friend I had in her. The rest I will use to make arrows for one special purpose: To kill the type of creature who is responsible for taking her life.

I find it odd that I feel so strongly about Nianque. I have only had her as a companion for a few days, yet I had always felt like she was a part of me. Losing her felt like the gods had played a cruel joke on me, allowing me to save her from a horrible fate, only to have her die a few days after, to a creature more evil than the one selling her as food.

Theona has stayed close to me since we left the lair. I know she can feel a little of my feelings, and knowing that she is here with me does afford comfort.

Theona and I returned to the Bright Blade Brandished. We found that everyone had had congregated there, so we got our last-minute supplies and headed back to the mage college to be teleported to Yartar, which we believed the caravan had not yet passed through.
After we teleported we headed out of town, because I wanted to meet the caravan outside of town, so that hopefully we wouldn’t attract to much attention.
Beowulf turned himself into an eagle and headed out to scout ahead. I stayed with the party; I did not think that I would need to range ahead on a main road.
After a couple hours Beowulf returned, saying that he had just warned a caravan of a troll attack. We quickened our pace so that maybe we would be able to help. About an hour later, three wagons came into view moving at a full clip. As they passed by Rosorc threw a bag filled with snakes into the wagon! The two riders jumped out, yelling “Bandits,” and Rosorc issued a battle challenge to them. They grabbed onto the next wagon, letting its momentum pull them into it. Had Theona not been there to stop me, I probably put an arrow in him on the spot.
I have no idea what he was thinking. The only thing that did was get us on a wanted list for bandits. Now on top of trying to find the Red Tiger’s Statue, there is a possibility of us having to deal with bounty hunters on top of everything we encounter in the wilderness. Not to mention we won’t be allowed in a town.
We continued on, hoping that maybe we could help the wagons that had not made it away from the troll attack. We did come upon the wagons, thought there was not much to find. Theona did find some crossbows, bolts and a few bottles of alchemists’ fire, which I took.
Tyan headed out after the path the trolls had taken away from the path. I followed, knowing that we wouldn’t be getting back into civilization without proof of us being well-meaning.
We did encounter to two trolls, which we were able to kill without to much trouble, though it did really hurt Tyan. If not for Beowulf’s healing spells, he surely would have died. Fortunately Beowulf was able to heal him so that he had no major wounds. We traveled on and the path led to a troll cave…..

Our journey through the Evermoors has been anything but uneventful, and I have had little time to set aside to write in this journal. Theona is keeping watch right now, and I decided I would write a little in my journal.

We cleared out the troll cave (or a least most of it) and found two caravan gaurds and a prisoner troll. We freed the troll (kind of) and after Deitricha remembered that she was just like any normal cleric and has a vast number of helpful spells, she arranged to be a translator for a few minutes every day. Rosorc headed back to Yartar with the caravan survivors and we headed north with the troll. I also managed to collect a very nice looking greatsword. I know it has a magical aura, and I am hoping that it turns out to be useful, if I can get it identified. I have been using it as a normal sword since then, in hopes that I might realize some of its potential.

We followed the troll’s direction to a fortress a few days northward in the Evermoors. We attempted to wander in, and were met with giant, ogre, and hobgoblin resistance, led by an ogre magi. Beowulf died in our first attempt to enter the fortress, and we were found by 4 Yartaran militia, one of whom is a human who bears an elven name (Ebin Starsliver). So far I think very little of him, as he seems to be looking for a fight and nothing else, nor does he seem to care about his own well being, let alone others.

We attempted to find a way into the fortress again, and were attacked by more of its defenders. We barely managed to suvive the rooftop battle, but we killed the defenders that had sent us packing the first time. Tyan blew a hole in the fortresses roof, revealing a hydra, which we also managed to kill (after the first battle). Ebin once again showed his amazing intellectual power by attacking the hydra head on with out support. After he was healed (by Deitricha, of course) we worked together and killed it.

We then found a giant sarcophagus (which we belive is a vampire, thanks to another of Deiticha’s many useful Divination spells). and while we tried to think of how we could open it while the sun was shining (on it) we were at a loss. when the sun began to set we decided (amazingly) that it would be a good idea to set up camp for the night.

We managed to slay the vampire the next day, but at the cost of both Detiricha and Ebin. We built a raft from a fortress door and floated downstream, taking the 2 bodies with us. After landing a few days later in Yartar, they were raised by a cleric of Lathander, who insisted on raising both after hearing their cause of death. I think it would have been more ironic had help come from a cleric of Illmater.

After our party was (bodily) whole. We looked for a means of transport to Silverymoon and North to my home in the cold wood. I wanted to take our time and perhaps make some money by going with a caravan. Tyan planned on riding in luxury, and the rest of the group decided we were hiring a wizard to teleport us to the cold wood (because traveling in a large well-armed caravan is not safe enough). Deitricha and Ebin fronted the money, and the wizard whisked us off to the Cold Wood.

The Silver Tiger is now returned, and the Red Tiger Tribe has afforded me with one Boon. Which is basically whatever I wish. I couldn’t think of anything to ask of them, however, but perhaps I will once I return again. (That isn’t completely true. I had a wish come to the front of my mind, but I’d rather have the healing abilities of the cleric (even if that is all she think she can do) that 2 more barbarians.)

We met my parents for breakfast and told them of our adventures. My parents did not seem overly impressed with the metal-clad member of our group (he couldn’t even climb the tree to our house), though they seemed to enjoy meeting everyone else. Until my mother made a sarcastic comment about us expecting her to teleport us somewhere else and all the humans jumped at the opportunity. My mother quietly collected a few scrolls, and teleported us to the city of Llorkh.

We entered the city without any trouble and quickly split up to purchase desert gear. Tyan returned with wagons, camels and a large supply of food and water.

Theona and I both purchased clothing to help us through the desert and we gathered our things, getting ready to head east. Theona has been seeing symbols for the Zhentarim all over the place and has been ancy to either attack them or escape them, so we headed out the next morning, as early as possible.

Our travels have been mostly uneventful, other than an attack of goblins and a strange wolf/goblin hybrid creature who managed to make Ebin attack us.

We also helped an old man on our way. His wagon had gotten stuck in a ditch, so we helped him out of it, then bought a few of his wares. A few hours later the common items we bought turned out to be magical items that would be quite useful. I almost wish that I had bought something from him, though I am not sorry I didn’t. I think that I have enough to survive on my own. I wonder though, if everyone else does....

We are 11 days out of Llorkh now, and into the Anauroch Desert. We have begun traveling at night and resting during the day to keep us out of the heat.

The tenday before we made it to the desert we were attaced twice, once by goblings led by a strage wolf-goblin creature, and once by a bluette. We have the armored plates of the bluette stored in the back of the wagons now, and I hope that we will be able to trade them for something once we return to civilization.

I am still working on my bow...though the lack of excitement has allowed me to work a great deal on it. I belive I will finsh it in another tenday, and be able to start working on the huge pile of fletching supplies I have stacked in my backpack.

I have started wondering though about learning some arcane magic to aid my skill with a bow. My mother told me of elves who learn some arcane arts to make their attacks more powerful, and I have seen how well theona’s wand seems to work on strong creatures. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me make my arrows sap a creatures strength.