Day 1 and a half: Reflections

[matt]

- A number of figures and tactical options rest on the page of this leather-bound journal. To the left upper corner, a bunny nestled against a large turnip dancing with the bartender with the words "Mental Note: Turnip Soup for the road." rest under it. Under that, he placed a number and other words; Bath Count: 6 (plus 1 for new shoes and clothes.-

Reflections:

- For having just been around for about the latter half of two days, this certainly has been invigorating. Skeletons in the closet of Erathis' church, releasing a dragon with quite the cunning mind, "investing" in hard-lined establishments of food and drink. Must try and recommend some Dwarves to the tavern, check their reactions with a glass of wine and a smile on my face.

- Yuriel: Another good mind in a group like this never hurts; will certainly keep both of us in check, and a debate given enough time never hurts. A bit high-strung and tense, though. If he served to relax a couple hours instead of rushing every which-way, I'm sure Lili would have to say very little. Quite capable in the magical arts as well. Might wish to compare notes. Might not take well to a prank.

- Lili: A bit obsessed with Turnips and money, for some reason, but very enjoyable. Might be willing to play more tricks on others if I present them the right way, and if we're lucky, not for any technical effect either. Laughs really are a better drought for what ails you..even a psychic blast of energy. Would certainly enjoy a prank if the right one if administered. Could instigate retalilation, but likely nothing but humorous.

- Tailom: A good and dependable man if ever I saw one. Hoping that over the course of these potential adventures, he will open up and speak more. Very efficient in fighting and in life..wonders how he disappears, but consider some sort of magical item or innate power. Might shoot me if target of a prank.

- Peloric: Another man of the cloth, but maintains a righteous, if not dramatic stance. Seems quite taken with some priestess or another I've yet to meet, but rather important by the sound of things. Humorous and capable, but have not seen his full capabilities due to the circumstances of the combat earlier. Might try to convert me if I prank him.

- The Minstrel: Untrustworthy, yet useful. Wonder what he gains out of helping us instead of doing good deeds himself. Will keep a closer eye on him.

- King Melkar: A surprising blowhard considering what the current events and the history say of the man. Thinks mainly in black-and-white without proper coercion, so some explanation and further enlightenment for the man may be required at each meeting. Otherwise a dependable source of intrigue and rewards. Must remind myself to delve further into the current political makeup.

[matt]

-Over the next couple days upon the boat, an illustration of everyone's role on the boat as well as his own and their temporary positions were mapped out with an illustration and a schedule. Beside it, a super-deformed Tiefling is on a deck with a rod and string over the side of the mast....Three pages later...-

A territorial dispute? This situation will only lead to more problems; considering King Melkar's adamant personality and rise to such levels of power, it is very possible that he may request the lands from the elves, and our involvement within these areas may either cease, or become more involved with this Druid, as we may be forced into battle against someone who can shift the very earth. What does the king see as "good" in this situation, I wonder.

Although, these last couple days have been pretty good for us; we managed to grow more effective as a team against a Dire Bear...although the poor thing really didn't have much chance against us, and the proprietor of the establishment might require a "undue" inspection by a proper police force. I worry that the battles may become either too gruesome, too entertaining to stay off the radar anyway, or start going too far to make things more "interesting" for their bloodthirsty fans.

Poor Peloric; despite his good intentions, the battle with the Rakshasas could have gone better for him. Despite their numbers weakened by my spells, even one of their number managed to cause him quite a lot of distress. Taliom's initial strikes are quite powerful, even over than Yuriel's consistent showing in combat, but it might be prudent to help him consider other options in battle. Uriel and Lili were as effective as I have seen them, but I myself must be more careful; sleeping closer to the campfire should give me more distance from the enemies, allowing me to use my powers more efficiently in the possibility that I may need them later. Learning to manipulate my orbs of lightning is another hurdle; why expend the effort to keep an enemy within other's reach, when I can do the same thing, but also make the lives of our enemy more troublesome with standing effects? I shall have to keep these things in mind for next time...We may very well be in Salamar sooner than we thought...at least me, anyway. Still, I must also plan for some fun against Xandor; he irks me and clearly, he irks Lili, and this situation he sent us in irks me even more.

-An illustration of Xandor getting a bucket of bloody, leaky meat chunks is below this entry, with the words "Plan 1." under it. A simple message of "Kick Me" scorched into his clothing is "Plan 2." The third plan involves an illustration of the bard standing there, the written-sound of farting while Mel's illustration has a sparkling hand behind his back-the motions for a Ghost Sound- is "Plan 3."

[matt]

-A simple drawing of a Rakshasa child is all that adorns the upper half of this picture. There are a couple furious rewrites before he actually begins.-

We try to help these people, and all they give is scorn and more ignorant assumptions about our intentions. Just wonderful. Well, with the Illithid's presence among this area and their deaths upon his shoulders, we have at least gotten a good deal of vengence. I must plan on conserving a little more each time; I barely managed to cause significant damage through my bolstered magics. I shall need to rest my hands for awhile, either way; multiple flesh wounds make the skin tender. However, I knew that the Resistance incantation I learned would be useful.

The threat is more than palpable and clearly something we MUST deal with as quickly as possible; that creature nearly took all of our resources to destroy, even considering the battle beforehand, and now we are down a man; Finding a cave or whatever means the Illithid used to come here is first priority, but we simply need to close off whatever passage it used, and move on. It will take some doing and a great deal of magical energy to close a physical passage, but if it is a arcane one...We may have no choice in attempting to defeat whatever creatures come forth. I shall be planning accordingly, especially since my stronger abilities will be vital. Therefore, I can spend none until we reach a formidable opponent.

On another note: Melkar doesn't sound so intimidating through a Sending. He needs to be ready for any circumstance should a more important matter present itself. What if a country was being attacked, or a new magistrate rose to tremendous political power? He'd have to deal with a actual person entering his chambers and throwing those covers off, no question. I was being quite generous, in fact; A leader should be prepared for anything.

[matt]

-Once again, no illustrations don this page, save one; A cracked, splintered altar-completely black- destroyed, bursts of divine and arcane power coursing through it to destroy what remains. Written next to it is "Possible solution."-

My, how the Fienslef clan name ruins so quickly. Demonic pacts aside, it used to be one of respect and caring for the lower class to a degree, or at the very least, enough to purge the town of a threat using their resources. Seems I have to stand as the one who holds those standards again, not that I'm back in town. Mother and Father were no help despite their connections within society, which I find odd. If they are behind this or connected in any way, however, I will do what I must to protect Zhar, Callie, and all these new friends of mine...although destroying the altar might be on my to-do list anyway. I'm here, and I'm sure I can convince Peloric.

It was a good start with running across the good sheriff with the mage's attendant. Its too bad she could not be more help about the money and where it came from. I know the arcane are supposed to be a secretive lot, but that shouldn't account of those who are around to care about, much less a little eavesdropping never hurt someone truly close to someone else.

Drow within the city angers me greatly; these people are innocent and these halls, while small and a little cramped, are filled with people who just want peace. The poor sheriff was nearly frozen with fear through that whole encounter. I was not against making that Drow talk with my singing blood against her temple, for all they've done..

We must find the fearmongers and bring them to justice, by ANY cost.

[matt]

You know when I said I would be having one of those days, Journal? It finally happened.

First came the genasi, who talk of rebellion. While I trust Yuriel to make a good decision regarding his own people, the prospect of going against an emperor is bound to have some political ramifications if they are as technologically advanced as they claim to be....and THEN came the battle with the Guardian..and ONE after another, things went downhill.

I nearly got away with the root intact, mind you. Whatever this creature was, our tactics prevailed in that aspect, at the very least. I can only pray that I can find a way back in all of this, lest we become fodder for dragons and whatever else this strange new technology offers.