Ivor

As a new month begins, the day after I turned older, I cannot but see a bright future ahead for my family name and me.

May Bersk become a synonym of power, respect and fame.

The Syndicate just got attacked. Everyone survived. We have to get a leader and a real military organization. Because we only survived thanks to individual strength.

The Sun will rise tomorrow.

This month has been a busy one. I actually can't even begin to describe it. For someone to attack a bunch of mercenaries with an army that we managed to fight off is absolutely absurd. I do not think I will ever be able to accurately describe how frustrating the entire process was. Attempting to make sure people stay alive and we don't lose positioning was the worst thing I've ever had to do currently at the Syndicate.

But enough about that nonsense. I've learned and researched many more creatures. Perhaps I'll be able to learn about most that we may come across. Fenris has the idea to write a book of it but I wouldn't feel right about writing a book without checking my sources. I will need to focus my skillset towards it more so I have less issue finding what I need.

Though I've found a steady stream of people interested in chess for whatever reason.

The State of the Syndicate

17 Kythorn - 23 Flamerule, 1502 DR

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What else can I say regarding my time in the Syndicate? It is chaotic. It is stressful. It has brought me to the brink of death more times than I can count. And yet I have no regrets joining its ranks.

The following has transpired since my last entry a month ago:

• I fended off ghasts and ghouls with Ivor in a harrowing fight.
• I fought against frost giants and helped buried them in an avalanche.
• I assisted in the safe precurement of cheeses in Waterdeep.
• I took down poisonous foes bothering Nahaunglaroth the Sky Surge in the Nether Mountains.
• I joined a couple halfling mercenaries in a game of cards.
• I watched Tova detonate ogres into oblivion.
• I bested bandits alongside Wuyon'e and Tova.
• I worked with Ivor and Aber to clear undead from a bookkeeper's basement.
• I crashed a wedding that was in turn crashed by hags.
• I was turned into a goose. But got better.
• I took on a chimera alongside Snap.
• I attempted to recapture an escaped archfey.
• I faced yuan-ti who threatened a walk that Tova and I took.
• I defended the Syndicate from Orlak's forces.

In this time, I have gained items and experiences far beyond what one would assume. The most notable in my mind and heart is forming a relationship with Tova. A spitfire of a woman, true to herself and what's right, and fearless. She's been by my side through my dealings with my patron, and forming a plan to fulfill my pact. And I am quite fond of her. A month has felt like years of perfection.

Snap and I have also become close to one another. We decided to become roommates, in the home I have purchased for myself in Loudwater. This should be a wonderful alliance, and especially reassuring I will have someone to water my plants while I am away. Regardless I value Snap's advice and comradery, and look forward to the future.

A handful of other Syndicate members have caught my attention for one reason or another. Alvis, Arlis, Fenris, Jax, Mimsy, Orri, Salviron, Tealight, Temoren, and Theoden have all caught my attention and respect, and I look forward to working with everyone in the near future. This has been a legendary experience, working with all of you. And as I move into my own tailor's shop soon, I will be sure to stop by often to share drinks and stories.

-Sylkran "Sylk" Teke'zynge

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i cant believe its been like over a month since i joined! thats crazy!!! its been a weird time gotta say but since getting here me and wilson have grown A LOT. got up to so many shenanigans.

• on our first day we really badly helped some spooked horses and runaway carts
• some thayan wizard guy was upsetting the local giants in daggerford but we cleared the bad guys out
• a satyr summoned us to a pocket dimension to help sort out some bickering flowers. and then dahlia turned into a sheep!
• watched a sea hag eat lil turtles. it was her last meal
• a nice lady (NOT A SEA HAG) (OR ANOTHER KINDA HAG) trained me and snap on scimitar stuff
• dealt with goblins worshipping a rock
• some big dragon (narglarock?) had us go through an undead dungeon
• dealt with a yuan-ti lady who worked with a big spider?
• got ambushed by kenku but i got em back
• got jumped by wererats but artificers stay winning
• gave a feydragon a cinnamon roll and in return got friendship!
• went and investigated dragon cultists (more on this one later!)

ive had fun! so has wilson. :D looking foward to more!!!! -rokka

Flamerule 23

Wow, this has been a month. First off, a LOT of new members, which is great. What's not so great is danger has continued to increase around loudwater and the delimbyr.

The syndicate was recently attacked, the first one it has faced. It is no secret who was behind it: Orlak, that FUCKING goblin. After murdering solia and escaping all those months ago, he's been busy. An army of goblinoids, devils, a dragon, and a beholder has been amassed.

What came down upon the syndicate was only a small piece of what he had.

But, this ends. Soon.

The first half of the month was pretty quiet but that came to an end when the Syndicate came under attack by a large force of goblinoids and fiends. We all rushed out to defend the grounds and while it was chaotic as most large scale battles are, we prevailed, though a good number of kobolds on our side had been slain. After the battle and the numerous bodies having been cleaned off the field, things have pretty much returned to normal I guess. Solia seems off but she has many good friends looking out for her, so I'm sure she'll be ok.

The State of the Syndicate

July 2026 / Flamerule 1502 DR

Reported by Tova

Flamerule has been busy for the Glassfang Syndicate. That is still the polite way to say it. The Syndicate continues to gather capable, dangerous, strange, and occasionally very attractive people under one roof. New faces have arrived, familiar faces keep finding new ways to surprise me, and the feast hall remains one of the best places to hear rumors, find work, share a drink, or accidentally learn something personal before the meal is finished.

The work has continued steadily. Members have taken contracts beyond our walls, investigated threats in places most sensible people avoid, and returned with bruises, stories, and sometimes a bit more mud than necessary. Corruption, fey influence, hostile creatures, missing soldiers, and worse have all made an appearance this month. Training has also been active, with sparring, spell practice, crafting, and preparation shaping the Syndicate into something stronger. Some of us are learning how to hit harder. Some of us are learning how to avoid being hit. Some of us are learning both the hard way.

The biggest threat this month was the assault on the Syndicate itself. The attack was organized and serious, with goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, fiends, and siege equipment pressing both sides of our defenses. The Syndicate held, but not without cost. Several kobolds were lost during the attack. They helped keep this place running before the siege, and many helped defend it during the fighting. They should be remembered as part of the Syndicate, not treated as background losses.

This month also made something clear to me. The Syndicate is not just a place people pass through for coin. At least, not for me anymore. I have grown close to people here. Friends, allies, sparring partners, troublemakers, and one particular drow who has become very difficult not to care about.

Because of that, I found myself standing against Akordil Kuldrexel, Sylk’s patron and grandmother. She made it clear she believed I was interfering with the future she had planned for him, and she expected fear, duty, and old bloodlines to be enough to make him obey. I disagreed. Strongly. Sylk is his own person, not a title, not a weapon, and not something to be bent into shape by someone else’s expectations. I do not hold power over him, and I do not need to. Caring for someone without controlling them is not weakness. It is love, and I will stand by that.

I have also had difficult words with Wuyon’e about Sylk, duty, and the expectations placed on him by the world he came from. We do not agree on the value of life, choice, love, or whether people are allowed to become more than what others named them. For the record, I believe they are.

The Syndicate is full of people carrying old wounds, old duties, old fears, and old names that do not fit as well as they used to. Some are trying to change. Some are fighting it. Some are doing both while pretending no one notices. I notice.

Morale is not untouched, but it is not broken. People are still training. Still taking work. Still gathering in the hall. Still laughing, flirting, arguing, healing, and walking back through the doors with new bruises and better stories. The Syndicate is not quiet. It is not safe. It is not simple. But it is alive, and after this month, I think that means something.

Signed,
Tova

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State of the Syndicate

Reported by Temoren Cairnwright

This month was busy in a way that felt less like one clean road and more like several badly marked trails crossing at once.

I have continued taking Syndicate work where I can, and the pattern remains consistent: the world is full of old problems, new problems, and people who insist on handing adventurers unclear maps before sending them toward both.

One job took us north toward the Nether Mountains on behalf of Nahaungloroth the Sky Surge. The work involved the Blood of Morueme, a goblinoid messenger named Hario, an abandoned and warded city called Glaurachyndaar, swarms of stirges, giant scorpions, poisonous dragon-like creatures, and wyverns. The provided map was poor, so I corrected my copy as we traveled. This is not a complaint. It is a fact, and also a recurring theme.

I also joined work involving the Mistbourne, the Tidewheel, and the Dark Tide. That matter was considerably stranger. The town was built around the ribcage of a dead leviathan, which I am still deciding how to categorize in my notes. We learned more about Joturr, the storm around old Ithal, and what the Dark Tide has become. Erlan Fleetfoot survived, which matters, because he may be one of the few people capable of helping the Mistbourne understand the Tidewheel without becoming part of the problem himself.

I have also met several new people around the Syndicate this month, including a white-haired woman with very striking markings. I do not know her story yet. I have learned not to assume too much based on appearances, but I do keep notes. Quietly.

Fetch continues to be helpful, though not always durable. He was taken out by friendly fire during one patrol. He has since been repaired. I have tools, and he has opinions.

On the craft side, I have begun offering spell scroll scribing under the name Cairn & Compass, which is also the name I intend to use for my future bastion once the proper location is settled. The bastion itself is not ready yet. I want the location to be right, not merely available. There is a difference.

For now, I am focusing on useful work: scrolls, corrected maps, field notes, and whatever preparations keep people alive when the next road turns out to be worse than advertised.

No one died on my watch this month.

That is not the same thing as success in every matter, but it is worth recording.

~Temoren Cairnwright~

State of The Syndicate

Flamerule 1502 DR

It has now been a month and a half since I've joined the Syndicate, and I don't regret it. The company is great, better than I've ever had. Free lodging and food has been quite the benefit. And, of course, how can I forget the thousands of gold I've made over simple craftwork? How have I never accomplished this before?

It has been quite eventful. Since my last report, I've ended a plague on the Far Forest, been turned into a goose, inspected caravans and rid them of wererats, looted a crypt for old artifacts, made some hobgoblins cry because they couldn't rob me, evacuated Phlan from that one stupid Cult of the Dragon, protected people from underwater beach horrors, beat up a Chimera, was chased by the same Chimera, became best buds with a Djinni, defended the Syndicate from goblins, and, of course, made another set of manifold tools for even more gold.

I've also finally moved in at Loudwater, in Slick's attic. Recently, I've been crafting more and more gear and have gotten a few commission requests, and as such I require better access to materials. Whether I will miss the Syndicate building itself is another question, but for now I am quite content. Rehka has also proposed that perhaps I could become a dragon, or something of the sorts, which is something I may consider looking into, although her following ramblings show that perhaps she hit her head once or twice as a child.

As much as I'd like to write out another list of people I am grateful for, my relationships haven't quite changed. I've met Brie, Soilia, Jasmal, Valentine and Wuyoney, I suppose. I have also not seen Forest, Basar and Read in a minute. If I think of more to say, I will write an addendum to this text.

With resolve,

Snap

State of the Syndicate

as written by Tealight on 28th Flamerule 1502 DR

When I first joined the Syndicate, I had hoped simply to prove myself useful. Looking back over the past month, I believe I have done just that.

Most of my assignments have involved investigating strange occurrences throughout the surrounding forests. Giant burrowing creatures, fungal infestations, mysterious plagues, and even the occasional beach party gone terribly wrong. I have fought bulettes, monstrous insects, undead, hags, dragonspawn, and creatures far stranger than I care to list. Thankfully, I have survived them all.

One thread has continued to stand out to me. Illness seems to be spreading throughout the region in many different forms. Parasitic mushrooms consuming entire forests, mysterious plagues afflicting nomadic tribes, and strange corruption affecting wildlife. Whether these incidents are connected or merely unfortunate coincidence, I cannot yet say. It is something I intend to keep watching.

Among the more memorable assignments was assisting the dryads Maple and Shiitake. Maple sought our help after a fungal infestation returned to her grove, while Shiitake had chosen to live alongside the very mushrooms that consumed her. Their knowledge has already proven invaluable, and I hope their research leads us closer to discovering whoever is responsible for creating these unnatural fungal amalgamations.

Not every mission has involved saving forests or delving into forgotten ruins. There was also the peculiar beach festival where Sunbeam kindly lent me his shirt after I discovered I had packed rather impractical clothing. The day somehow involved wild magic, enchanted dancers, an argumentative fish-man, and a monkey stealing an important package. Looking back... it was strangely enjoyable.

Perhaps the greatest surprise has not been the adventures themselves, but the company.

Lady Death has become a reliable companion, calm even when situations become dire. Sunbeam continues to prove that kindness and unwavering optimism can survive even the most dangerous battles. Azure Eyes somehow manages to remain cheerful regardless of how often magic decides to inconvenience him—though I suspect he will never entirely forgive me for making him even larger than he already was. Pink Lady has been pleasant company whenever our paths have crossed, and Lucinda...

The Syndicate itself has impressed me more than I expected. During the recent assault on our headquarters, adventurers and staff alike stood together to defend it. Kobolds manned ballistas without hesitation, companions rushed to one another's aid, and everyone fought as though protecting something they genuinely cared about.

I think... I understand why.

When I first arrived, I was simply looking for work.

Now, I find myself looking forward to seeing familiar faces whenever a new request is posted.

Overall, I am pleased with my time here. There is still much to learn, many places to explore, and more than a few mysteries left unresolved.

For the first time in quite a while, I find myself genuinely excited to see what comes next.

State of the Syndicate: Flamerule 1502 D.R.

The big news of the month has already been expounded upon by other voices than mine: the Syndicate has weathered its first full assault, while the master of the place was absent -- or lured away. Let their accounts, and those of the formal reports, stand for that. As an addendum, we have hunted down and killed the vermin responsible for it.

The Syndicate at large is still reeling, I think. There are hard feelings, stemming from poor leadership and decisions during the attack. Far from bringing us together, as it ought to have, the attack has sown seeds of discord that will likely outlive its architect. Let it be.

My business continues to grow and thrive, even as the official Syndicate work continues to falter -- for me, at least. I spend most of my time at my home. I fear I shall become a recluse. I have been obliged to make a veritable fortress of it, following the death of one of my hired guards -- Puff by name -- at the hands of trolls who slipped past my less imposing defenses. Another of my guards, called Lief, the ultimate source of much drama in my personal life, has simply vanished -- formed a relationship with Arlis, I believe, and the two of them have retreated to the privacy of their new cabin in the woods. I did the windows for the place myself.

But Optometry still rules from her castle in the sky, and I have yet to deal with her directly. A Red Wizard of Thay still wants his things back, and has the means to enforce his will upon Solia and Bri. There are still more loose ends to die up than are healthy for any of us, and I cannot begin to plan for what the future holds. I can only make as many general preparations as I can, and hope for the best.

-- Yashir adh Rumahr

Arlis the Shade

This month has been fuckin' wild... From helpin' the Emerald Enclave more to the Siege against the Syndicate to goin' to Waterdeep to helpin' the Gatekeeper of the Autumn Bough... I don't even know where to fuckin' start... Honestly, the Siege is the biggest thing that happened. Orlak had an army come and attack the Syndicate. Bunch of goblins and hobgobbos, ogres and devils... He swarmed the Syndicate from the east and west and it was a mess. Fortunately Vincel and me were preparing to spar so we were already on sight. There were two waves and.. I almost didn't make it. At the same time, Lief had gone back to Shining Peaks after the news of Puff's death. He ended up fighting Yargenlily for his freedom and WON! He's no longer one of the Boys. I'm so proud of him for winning his freedom. Something I could never do... Yashir, Bri, Solia, Vincel and I think Surx? Went out to fight Orlak. From what I heard they actually killed 'em. But... I dunno if the war is over. I feel like maybe Orlak wasn't the biggest boss in the room. Thrax also had a group of us head out to Waterdeep to try and find a spot to set up a teleportation circle. The city is HUGE! I'm excited to explore it more. Sol's got a list of places to go. There's... there's more, but... I don't feel like writing it here.

Sargrea Maze

My activity within the Syndicate has been minimal as of late. I have acquired a new skill with painting supplies to the thanks of my benefactor, Mister Waures. I have acquired new friends... I am slowly settling in here. I will be taking on more jobs in the near future, and I hope that my services will be more beneficial.

So much occurred this past month. So much so that to try to encapsulate it all would take hours if not days to do so. For my part, I spent a majority of it training with Arlis. This, along with continuing to learn Leatherworker's tools, has kept me quite busy. I have hardly had time to go on adventures, or quests, or missions for that matter.

There was a major attack on the Syndicate. This has got me worried about my own safety, and that of my home, so, I have already begun planning the upgrades to Liberuma'poena. Hopefully, they will prove most effective in the months to come.

I have also begun work on a solution for Solia and the bothersome issue of her Keystone Relic. What is known of these artifacts is limited, and as such, my research into them has provided limited results. I have attempted to attune a planar fork to the innate frequency harbored inside the eye, though, I have yet to align such things. We have only attempted once, though, a question she posed after the attempt... leaves me worried as to what might happen, should we all embark into the space beyond spaces: into that prison that keeps an entity locked away.

What could such a thing have done to be locked away in such a manner? Is it possible to kill such a thing, should it come to it? Or will we trap ourselves inside, alongside this Weaver?

Hubris is the downfall of all, and Wizards are prone most of all to pride. I know I must think of a solution before jumping in to these uncertain waters, lest I never reach the great heights I push myself to attain. I cannot falter now, not when the answers are so close...

SYSTEM LOG: 1502 DR - kythorn & flamerule

ARCHIVE 1: kythorn

Arrived at Glassfang Syndicate. Became official member of the guild. Completed 4x missions. Achieved Initiate rank. Acquired syndicate allies: Snap, Sylk Teke'zynge, Tova Sundara. Favors: Waterdhavian Cheese Gourmet, unicorn Primira. Enemies: ex-employer Mirt

Warning: mainframe and system infection increased. syndicate allies close to harm. Recommended: dispose of the corruption. Directive: search individual skilled in smithing.

ARCHIVE 2: flamerule

Completed 7x missions. Achieved Adept rank. Acquired syndicate allies: Rokka, Temoren Cairnwright. Favors: Fellowship of Bowyers and Fletchers. Penalties: Waterdeep edict - 1 month ban from the city. system almost failed completely.

Warning: mainframe and system infection reached new corruption levels. Note: syndicate member Bri's effort showed no results. Received guidance to seek ally Temoren for further assistance. Directive: seek out Temoren. must get stronger. must protect friends.