Mimsy's Note

31 Ches 1502 DR
Well, Ive been here for a few weeks.
I must admit, I am not having the best time. Though, the reliable food and drink has been nice, and the company is nice. I've been hesitant to explore, many of my associates are much more equipped to handle the dangers of the road. Though, my coin purse is feeling light, suppose I will need to get out there some time, as Ive only had 2 contracts. One, I almost died, and the other I was able to keep conscious. Hopefully the later becomes a trend.

Bri's Note

31 Ches 1502 DR
Solia died, Shev was turned to stone. This is a dangerous place
(previous note got deleted >_>)

13 Ches, 1502 DR

It has been a little over a month since I signed up with the Glassfang Syndicate back on the 25th of Hammer. I expected travel, contracts, and the occasional interesting problem. So far, it has delivered exactly that.

Our patrol toward Shining Falls was the most serious work yet. Goblins riding worgs had been harassing travelers along the runoff. We managed to deal with most of them, though not without some close calls. Bri went down hard at one point, but Solia and I managed to coordinate getting her back up while I worked to keep Jax from doing the same. I also discovered that keeping myself mobile is sometimes the best way to keep everyone else alive. Somewhere in the middle of all that I apparently sprouted radiant wings. I have no explanation for this yet, but they were helpful.

There have been quieter moments too. I have made a little coin in Shining Falls selling some of my maps and doing cobbler work for the halflings in town. Boots wear out quickly around here, and it turns out people are happy to pay someone who can fix them properly.

I have also been sparring regularly and getting stronger. Strong enough now to fully maintain my homunculus servant, Fetch. He has technically been with me all along, but he is considerably more capable now. Being short has its logistical challenges. Fetch solves many of them.

Not everything has been smooth among the Syndicate members. Solia and Thompson have had a bit of a rift after a hag apparently tried to bargain with Solia to break his heart in exchange for removing her feelings entirely. I told Thompson what happened. I am still not sure if that was the correct choice, but those two seem incapable of simply talking to each other like reasonable people.

Aside from that, everyone has been good company. New faces seem to arrive every day. The kobolds remain enthusiastically kobold. Thrax is still Thrax, though Na’ima insists he is not a proper orc since he apparently cannot speak their language. Na’ima herself is a fascinating person and I suspect I will learn quite a bit from her.

All things considered, the Syndicate has been exactly what I hoped it would be: a place where capable people gather and interesting work finds them.

Here’s to more adventures… and hopefully a few treasures along the way. I am still very glad I signed that contract.

Temoren Cairnwright
Artrificer Cartographer

15 Ches, 1502 DR

I debated whether or not this diary entry would function better as a piece of prose or poetry. I considered the greats, such as... well, considering I do not know of any greats in either of those genres of artistic expression, I am left with the fact that I, alone, must regale those who turn their eye to it with how my life marches on. Form remain formless, as it will undoubtedly blend both prose and poetry. I am no good with words, and thus, will not be limited by literary critique or the shackles of tradition.

I am a dancer. I wouldn't quite consider myself a musician, despite my understanding of rhythm and melody I am not the best performer. I just like to dance. I like to feel my body move, and use that movement to get what I want. Most of the time, that works. Here, at the Syndicate, however, they speak a different form of dance, as Yashir puts it. The dance of battle.

And, while the few sparring sessions I have had, with him, Mimsy, and Temoren were certainly educational in this new way of dancing, nothing opened my eyes more to the terrifying reality in which I adopted than running into three metal ox. They were easily three times my size, with horns of steel the length of branches. Monstrous, killing machines, they turned one of our own to stone with a blink of their eye. A few of us barely survived the encounter. Despite taking one out with my scimitar, I do not feel confident I would be able to do so again.

Then, there was the man on the road, whose body became a beast. It was unnatural, a horrible ailment that I was happy to have avoided catching. Both of these fights, I managed to remain unharmed. This is unlikely to continue forever.

I must get stronger. I must use what I know to survive. I am not someone who uses weapons- this is a possibility for the future, but I am floundering at this current crucible. I am a dancer, I know all the steps. I will use these to progress. No amount of training with others is going to teach me what I already know.

I am a weapon all on my own.

I have my first mission in a few days. I must be ready for it.

Na'ima

Assy, Arlie, and I joined the Syndicate this month. A kobold exploded in our faces when we signed up. I don't even know anymore.

Otherwise, we went with Tem to explore Shining Falls and some nobles tried to tax us while we were on the street! Do they not understand how taxes even work???? I'm so lost. But we continued back to the Syndicate and ended up finding the dumbest child I've ever met. I hate children. He was abandoned by his friends that ended up being FAKE people--not even real. But whatever I guess.

Before we even learned that though, Arlie took the kid back tot he Syndicate with us since he lives in Loudwater (what kind of name is that???) and then we headed out after a couple days to return the kid home. This tentacle cats stole the kid and then we had to do some weird convincing to get him back before he died. But we got him back home and learned his mom died and his dad is a mess and the kid is stupid.

Another day I went out with Arlie to go and get a new spellbook and these woods are stupid and dangerous but we stumbled into Assy that was off the path and picking flowers. So of course we had to go see what she was doing and then she fell into some sticky web cocoon. There weren't any spiders...at least that we saw but oh my, that could have ended so badly.

We had another job that involved more of the same symbols and this thing called the Emerald Enclave and apparently there's some kind of nonsense happening with them. I don't even know anymore.

I guess it'll just have to be a trip from here. I'm not sure if I'm happy about that.

28 Ches,1502 D.R.

These are tumultuous times.

The Glassfang Syndicate is, as an organization, still very new to the Shining Falls locale. Accordingly, I am relatively unfamiliar with the ordinary course of things. Perhaps the region has always been like this. Perhaps, when one settles down long enough, it is the way of things in all places. I wouldn't know. My life before the Syndicate could hardly be described as settled. Be that as it may, I was never aware of the sheer variety of tribulations that plague an apparently sleepy little halfling town.

Goblins. Yetis. Hags. Vermin of unusual size. Giant metal bulls that turn you to stone. I have lost count of the monsters and the hazards I've faced, and that's just the local fauna with which one must evidently contend on the way to the outhouse. Such a reckoning does not begin to categorize what we've faced on formal missions abroad -- teleported to the literally damnedest of places to do battle with other people's problems. Well. At least we get paid for that. And by "that" I mean everything from goats holding political office to griffins to pirates on the high seas to infernal engines of war in the Nine Hells themselves.

We have made enemies of nearly all of them, and loose alliances with some few. Though I, for one, have sought to keep neutral and give my loyalty to the coinpurse as befits a mercenary, it has not always been possible to avoid taking sides. Still, as an organization we seem to remain on good terms with all of the local big names, for now at least.

It has been a lucrative business, at least incidentally. While our first few jobs paid poorly for the danger to life and limb, I did acquire several valuable magic items, the sale of which funded a burgeoning business for me. I have grown somewhat in skill and power, and Kasim has spoken -- albeit without words -- for the first time in months. It gives me hope that he may one day recover, if I can offer him enough. Yet I am discomfited, for I have some cause to suspect he may be hiding things even in his reduced state.

My new colleagues -- whose roster expands weekly -- have developed their own powers. All bring their own varied talents, but I wonder if some of them are less well inclined toward the mercenary lifestyle as they might think. I have taken a step or two back from the social aspects of the Syndicate, for I have, I think, allowed myself to grow too close to some of them for my own comfort and theirs. It ill befits a mercenary to shed tears for fallen comrades, or to worry for the wellbeing of aught but his own purse. While I have tried at every turn to foster the camaraderie that will keep us alive in the field, at every turn I have seen those seeds sprout into unwholesome drama if anything at all. I've retreated to my business endeavors for the time being, and shall respond to calls as they come.

-- Yashir adh Rumahr

28 Ches, 1502 DR

Been less than a month since Astra, Sal and me joined the Syndicate. Not gonna lie, I was real skeptical at first... Weird ass lizards as servants seemed like a sketchy gig. But... Yeah I kinda like it here. Met some cool people. Some weird people... And I think I'm making some... friends. Yeesh... Maybe I'm getting too comfortable here. Gross.

Haven't been on many jobs, but some things been happening. A village near the Star Metal Hills was being harassed by griffons, which we took care of. And just yesterday we took care of some real mean plants and a mossy troll. Don't think the jobs are related any. The griffons were just real hungry and would take the horses. Some people too. We came across some starving wolves while we were tracking down the griffons too.

Which reminds me... there's been a shit ton of danger along the Delimbiyr River on the way to Loudwater. I've encountered lost kids, tentacle cats (displacer beasts), big ass cocoons of spider web with dead husk bodies, flying lizards (flying kobolds)... Lots of these creatures have been acting a little weird tryin' to get food. There some kind of game shortage or something? The tentacle cats tried to take the kid we were escorting home! Fucking hells it was a bitch to get Milo back... But the cats had starving cubs of their own... and the wolves in Star Metal Hills... they were starving too. Never before did rations come in handy so much...

And don't get me started on the fucking bee problem in Loudwater. Solia and me took care of 'em for now. But holy shit was that annoying. Got the price of rations to lower though, so, hells yeah.

The job last night that Boss Man suggested us for was... different. Well, not really different in what we had to do. Go in, kill some stuff, find info. That's typical. But... cause there's somethin' going on. Sal found some weird ass runes carved in trees that apparently were made by someone powerful or could use powerful magic. There weren't no birds or wildlife around that shoulda been. We snuck into a village that was completely destroyed. All the people killed, nothing making a sound except for these plant things. They were mean as fuck though. And the mossy troll. Had to fight 'em off. Once we took 'em all out we talked to a guy from the Emerald Enclave and told him what we found. He seemed concerned... He asked us to find their hideout in the forest to tell the higher ups what the fuck is happening... I'm not the best at explaining this shit. That's what Sal is for. I want to go find them and talk to them. Maybe their special tree is the same one I saw in my dreams... Weird ass trees.

Solia Faolanri
39 Ches, 1502 DR

How do I summarize all that's happened? I feel like a different person than when I arrived. I don't know if that's good or bad. I miss my family. I miss waking up to Tara's laughter, and a gruff but genuine good morning from Jaru. I miss bacon over the campfire, hot tea to ward off the chill at night. I miss the sound of rain in the trees while I'm safe, and warm inside the shelter.

But then I found this flyer, and I found these people. At first, I thought it could be something to bring back the feeling. But... I don't think it really works like that. The group I arrived with - Bri, Yashir, Jax, Shev, Thompson and Tem all took root quickly, and I thought maybe the same comfort would settle in. But, it didn't. Personalities clash, trust is difficult to give and to earn, and the road around the Syndicate is dangerous. Hags lurk the forest, making deals with the weak-hearted, goblins lie in wait to ambush tired travellers and yeti descend from the mountains with destruction on their mind.

In this short time, I've made friends and foes. Sometimes they're the same person. We never spent a lot of time around people, Jaru and I. We knew one another, and came to know Tara, but large groups were things to be avoided. That bothered me then, but I understand it better now. Solitude brings peace and balance. But at the same time... I don't know. I fluxuate between wanting to go and wanting to stay. My heart's been hurt as much as my body, and the people and places we've seen and been have a way of making you stop and look at things in new ways.

The work that the Syndicate brings has been pretty diverse. I've visited cities and rural towns to hunt Griffons and Goblins, and all the way to the Ice Spire to rescue Frost Giants. I've even been sent to the Hells. I've met real, actual members of the Emerald Enclave, and we've had dealings with Harpers and Zhentarhim alike. Each job seems different, but at the end of each, we all end up a little stronger and little wiser.

Groups of other people have trickled in slowly, too. One by one, the Syndicate grows and so do I.