23 Tarsakh, 1502 D.R.

An anomaly with the Syndicate thus far, this was more a personal mission than a sanctioned Syndicate job, we were *not* called upon to do anything at all. Last tenday, Solia, Bri, and I all sallied forth in pursuit of Orlak, a vicious little goblin who we captured in a previous mission, and who subsequently murdered Solia before making good his escape. According to the wanted posters scattered around Shining Falls (and apparently surrounding towns as well), he had carried out numerous murders since.

This mission is not directly about him. During our pursuit of Orlak, we came upon a band of murderous cannibalistic gnolls. Outnumbered, we elected to pass them by for the time being, but vowed to return to end their threat before it could spread to the Syndicate, and to end their blight upon nearby towns. That is what we came to do today.

We had discovered, also, along the way, a fallen Dwarven statue. In an old Dwarven script upon its base, we deciphered a memento that referenced an ancient Dwarven city, and speculated on the possibility of a subterranean network of tunnels that might still exist. If so, we imagined, Orlak might be hiding there.

Returning to the ridge and cave where we had discovered the gnolls last tenday, accompanied this time by volunteers Na'ima and Surx, we took some time to set up a series of ingenious traps to even the odds. They served us well in the battle to come. Na'ima drew the beasts out of hiding, and we engaged most of them outside their lair. Defeating them handily, we proceeded inside to search the cave. We found many corpses, including one who appeared to be some sort of fiendish cultist, but no living victims.

A second party, returning from the gods know where, entered the cave behind us, and we stood to battle against them and their giant hyena mounts. Though spread out and outflanked, we nevertheless prevailed through good tactics and teamwork. Our injuries were minimal and our losses none at all. An unqualified success, all in all.

-- Yashir adh Rumahr

To be entirely honest, I do not know what the purpose of this attack was. Keeping the Syndicate safe is a noble endeavor, certainly, but as I am writing this I am not sure that was all that we were doing. Tensions were already high as Yashir, Bri, Solia, Surx, and I headed out to the location that the first three saw a large collection of Gnolls. I didnt know the first thing about them, if I am honest, but apparently they are quite the threat.

As I mentioned, though, tensions were high. I dont know what happened on the previous trip, but it made the whole mission... weird.

Despite this, though, we were an effective team, arriving at a cave where they last saw them. We decided to set up traps, leading them to us. This was the wise decision, it seemed. We had a close call, nearly alerting them to our presence before we had finished laying our trap. Thankfully, when I shook my hips and brought them out, they were caught in bear traps and nets!

The combat went rather well, although rather short... This was obviously not all of them. I recommended a rest, but that wasnt possible as we saw corpses littering the interior of the cave. I checked for any survivors. A fruitless search. These gnolls were obviously capturing and killing people. During our search, a second wave came into the cave, and combat resumed once more.

Their leader was a monstrous beast, and the fight nearly drained me of all I had to offer. It drained practically everyone, it seemed, as we took out gnoll after gnoll... The threat had been taken care of.

I hope this was the right thing. I dont know if I believe in preemptive strikes, or if they are morally correct. Too much to think about, there...

Solia Faolanri
23 Tarsakh, 1502 D.R.

We saw them on the hunt for Orlak. A whole band of them, down below the cliff as we passed on the road to Orlbar. The trail wasn't a good one - we were grasping at straws and found evidence of dwarven tunnels on the journey. Not knowing what to make of that, we pressed forward toward town. It seemed the best bet. That's when we saw them. I was exhausted - too tired from keeping too fast a pace over too many days. We opted to come back and fight another day.

Which... we did. The gnolls had been hunting extensively in the area, and their numbers were many. We rigged the mouth of the cave with traps and a log to create a choke point. It was effective, and we managed to get in without too many injuries. Then, we explored the home and confirmed that these were part of that same underground network of tunnels made by ancient dwarves. How far they extend and where they go, we're not sure. Orlak could have taken them, he could have stayed topside. We know now only that he's stolen a number of material components necessary for a summoning circle. A problem left for us to deal with later.

As for the Gnolls, they're dead. All we could find in the tribe, and the location is noted in case we need to come back to clean them out again. We didn't find the other halfling child, and we didn't find any additional information that is of any use.

The search continues...