8th of Eleint, 1502 DR

Myself, Srin, Torva, Alvin, Citrus

I'll be honest, I didn't fully understand this one, even though it was pretty simple.

We were to meet at the One Eye Jax with a bartender named Serena, in the city of Luskan. On our way there, a drow child snagged my Headband of Awareness right off my noggin. Obviously, we pursued after them, and were blocked by two drow adults. Their parents? Don't think so. We pacified the two and restrained the one, taking my work back. After some questioning, we found the bar! Apparently they were hired by someone at the bar to steal from us? Their boss or something? Weird.

When there, we were tasked with our mission: clear out spiders from a basement. Very tedious job. Took two days! The spiders were strangely smart and strangely dangerous, but still no match to us. The bandits were more difficult.

At the end was a big spider construct that was apparently attracting those spiders down there. Man-made construct, of course. Unfortunately for it, seems I'm pretty good at short-circuiting constructs, because it didn't get to do anything, and between my fists, Torva's storm and Alvin's stick, we made short work of it.

That's about all I remember very important there. I think Srin had more to talk about with the bartender, but I was done.

With resolve,

Snap

15th of Eleasis, 1502 DR

Myself, Slick, Torva, Wu'yone, Lef

This one was horrible.

We were sent to Silverymoon to investigate and clear out a growth of strange mushrooms in the woods. In terms of what we accomplished, there is little to say from my end, in part because I don't understand all these Underdark related things.

First, we fought undead drow warriors. Bloated with spores, they were moving on their own. It was a pretty simple fight.

Then, we found a patch of weird mushrooms. Me and Lef identified they would explode in a big radius, but it wasn't until Torva threw a bolt of fire we learned they explode when fire is in proximity. They all blew up, alongside twigs. But the larger spore husks lived, the same ones that once grafted me to them, though there were more. I took many, many, MANY spore bombs and nearly fell, but Torva had my back. We freed Slick from one and killed them all. At the end of this, I was terribly bruised, on death's door twice, and needed to rest.

Finally, we arrived near the center, where the mushroom spread came from. After Torva cleared the field from more mushrooms, we moved in to what we expected to be an easy last battle. Two mounds of plants. Then, a third, enormous one rose from the earth. As I hit hard, I was its main target. Worse than being grafted, it engulfed me. I couldn't see, I couldn't fight back, I was stuck. I screamed as loud as I could, to no avail... until Slick's mental pull finally freed me. Terribly bruised once again. I thought I wouldn't make it, but I trusted in myself and my team. We did it.

Then was a cave. Apparently, it lead down to the Underdark. I believe Slick managed to close the portal and end the spore spread, but I was sick, physically and emotionally.

With resolve,

Snap

14th if Eleasis, 1502 DR

Myself, Slick, Abuh, Alvin, Ivor

This was one hell of a job.

We were invited by Duke Ravengard to the city of Baldur's Gate to participate in a pretty cool derby.

We didn't do that.

Instead, cultists dragged us down into Avernus, to participate in a much more exciting, although deadly, derby. Our goal was to collect seven soul coins for Matahi, from their rival Mad Meggy. We had to choose modules for some infernal machine to race around with, and I heavily insisted on taking a thunder cannon. We barely used the machine.

Before the race, we stumbled onto some devilish fey creature working for Mad Meggy. We devised a plan: Alvin would disguise as one of them, while I went invisible and pick pocketed them for coin. In the midst of it, Alvin had another infernal idea: instead act as a mechanic and disable their vehicles' breaks. I was successful in my search and found five coins, though was a little too eager, and we left before they got too suspicious.

Then, we went onwards on our machine. We had many options on how to proceed and chose to fight. It was a difficult fight, considering the creatures were so damn tough, but we prevailed and stole their machines. Plus, I freed some guys with really big heads, apparently slaves meant to repair machines forever. They were happy with the killing of their previous owners and helped our own machine. We also found way enough coin for quota!

Finally, a portal to the surface opened back up. Going through, we noticed some of Mad Meggy's infernal goons were attacking the city and its people. We went forward and began attacking these monsters, until suddenly... they vanished. We didn't get a single kill on them. Oh well.

So what did we do? Live, I suppose. Matahi paid us for our efforts, and we left. Eh. Sure.

With resolve,

Snap

11th of Eleasis, 1502 DR

Myself, Abuh, Socks, Ivor, Nima :(

A siege was planned on the city of Parnast in the Savage Frontiers. A giant by the name of Bed Frule donned a crown that turned her evil, and so was about to sent a mixture of goblinoid troops to claim the city. Our mission was simple: stop it. We had four days to prepare.

First, we went looking for some two-headed Ettin Graham that the Syndicate was familiar with. On the way, we convinced orc scouts to talk to their leader to postpone the raid. We didn't know it at the time, but it earned us an additional day. Then meeting up with Graham, we tried to convince him to join us by chugging beer (that is what he wanted), but that didn't go so well. He still sent us some help.

After that, we arrived at Parnast. Over the next few days, we reassured and trained the civilians and set up traps. We also prevented an important person, Chandra, from being kidnapped and killed.

Then, finally, was the siege. It was a tough battle for sure. The first wave was of goblins and worgs, easily taken care of. The second was of orcs and... bears? Which gave us a little trouble, but ended up fine. The third wave was completely wiped out by the town's defenses, giving us time to rest. The final wave, was the one with giants, mammoths and Bed Frule. Lord, this was a step up. I went west to ambush smaller troups, but everyone besides Ivor decided to follow along, leaving him stranded against every other force. Overwhelmed, he went down, though Nima did her best to keep us all alive. I stood in Bad Frule's way to prevent her from going after the others, and lost my own consciousness for a split second. But with the big bad evil gal down, the rest of the forces split up.

At the end of the day, we succeeded. Parnast is safe, thanks to us. I am proud to have been with Nima on her last job.

With resolve,

Snap

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

17th of Flamerule, 1502 DR

Mostly the same people

When we thought all their troops were gone, already a difficult battle, a second wave of them came, as large as the first. This one, somehow, went even worse than the first. Especially for me...

The goblins so chose that I was a prime target, along with Arless. It seemed as though arrows and magic were sent at nobody but us two for many, many turns. I crawled my way through the bridge, failing to hit anybody. Jasmal nearly retreated as well, after somehow knowing some Sophia went down inside the building.

I rushed to a ballista, flying up to a tower. But by the time I got a shot off, which missed entirely, they were finally retreating. Battered and tired, I spent the night up there.

Fortunately, we had no member casualties. Unfortunately, we had many staff ones.

I hope if we ever find ourselves in such a situation, which ideally does not happen, our communication improves.

• Snap

17th of Flamerule, 1502 DR

A bunch of people, including me

A bunch of goblins assaulted the Syndicate! I was in the workshop at the time. I grouped up with Arless and Vince, and we teleported to the east side through some portal of Vince's! For once I wasn't against them...

We beat up the orcs and goblins standing there as they launched attacks on the building. It didn't take long, and myself and Arless went back to go the West side. Seemed our side was a lot better handled than theirs. Besides this short instance, our defense seemed extremely chaotic. Most of the higher ranked individuals all amassed here, and even more people pooled, which is why we switched.

Thanks to the help of Jasmal over there, their focus was less on everybody else and more on him, who could somehow take every hit like it was nothing. I did my best at punching some sense into the goblin forces close by. Took a while, but we got everybody down. Well, of the first wave at least...

We took a breather. A well-deserved one. Unfortunately though, many of the Syndicate's staff kobolds fell during the attack. We thank them for their valiant efforts.

(The text on this note is written very small, though is still very legible and well-written.)

13th of Flamerule, 1502 DR

Myself, Slick, Missy, Alavis, and Arless.

Whereas last job was incredibly deadly at every turn, this one was one long, exhausting and lopsided battle. We were tasked by Calen, a member of the Keeper of the Amber Gate, to re-emprison some archfey Lady Narvina. She was suspected of crimes against a fey court, then escaped. To note, we would not be paid a coin for success. All we would be paid is what we could find within the place. Fine.

We first had to climb to her, to the top of some fort. Admittedly, it was amusing. One thing before a bridge teleported us just enough to the right so that we fell into water. Another made Missy and Arless start floating and dancing, which Slick and Arless played music alongside a spectral flutist to make stop. Then I went to sleep because of a trap, and nothing more. Along the way, we found a few chests with a decent amount of coin, which was nice, though no special items or anything of the sorts.

Then we got to her, and the nightmare began. While Alavis did get knocked out and a few others neared the same fate, this fight was not as difficult as it was simply tedious. To put it simply, nothing worked. It was her and two strange fey dragons. I attempted to dazzle her numerous times, to no avail each time. Arless tried to take hold of her, both by hand and with magical plants, and she shrugged it all off. Missy did get both dragons under her charm, until she simply broke his concentration and the wizardry without laying a finger on him. Slick put a ton of force into one of the dragons, something that would have knocked any of us down, only for it to barely be dented. And Alavis... did his best. She was too slippery, and we therefore decided this was not worth it. Not only would we not be paid for her arrest, but our lives were on the line, so we let her leave, though taking down one dragon.

I'm not mad by the outcome of the situation. In fact, we got all the pay we could have, and that's the more important part. She didn't seem like a dangerous individual either, but the fey are odd. I'm simply a little disappointed that it was all we could do.

At least we had fun,

Snap

(The text on this note is written very small, though is still very legible and well-written.)

13th of Flamerule, 1502 DR

Myself, Missy, Alavis, and Ivor.

My last three jobs have all been quite disastrous. Not in the sense that they have gone wrong and that we failed, but that the challenges ramped up incredibly quickly. Only a few days ago was I a judge in a cheese competition, and now I must deal with this stupid ass cult that want to take over a town because a dragon thinks it's funny or whatever the fuck.

We had no details of this task prior to meeting up with Alaid, a member of the Black Fist in Phlan. The original plan was to investigate other members of the Black Fist who may be involved with the Cult of the Dragon. Unfortunately, we were then attacked by said cult. A dragon razed parts of the city while numerous purple-wearing robes caused other chaos around, and other draconic entities roamed. A threat attacked the Laughing Goblin inn we were at, and we immediately dispatched of hobgoblins, some spellcaster, a hideous guard drake, and a big person with two dragon heads. One hobgoblin was kept alive for interrogation purpose, which some cutting words from Missy, a soul-piercing glare from Alavis, a very chilly slap from myself and a charming wizard spell from Ivor quickly outed who he was, who he served, what he planned, and all that, all boiling down to the cult.

On the topic of Ivor and this dumbass cult, a quick advisory note. Ivor poses quite an interest in the Cult of the Dragon, and has expressed a certain liking to it. Despite this here VERY APPARENT DESTRUCTION and many other historical proofs, as well as what I have seen with my own two eyes, he firmly believes it is NOT EVIL and instead only "dangerous". On mission, I will tolerate him as my coworker, but no more. An evil sympathizer is an evil themselves.

We took a quick break to discuss plans with Black Fist representative. First order of business was to find Gelvit, a Harper man, to guide us and civilians through the sewers, an easy escape route, as the docks were taken over. Though he was not keen on it himself, he recommended to us another commoner whose name was something like Jo Do, and who knew the sewers very well. As we returned, we spotted some corrupt Black Fists killing others. To let us pass, Missy cast some hypnotic wizardry, keeping them all from doing anything for a while, which let us pass with ease. Well, almost. Another kobold attacked us, and was quickly put down.

Then, we were to save Lord Regent, a very important figure for the Black Fist. Kept inside of the town castle by cultists and corrupted guards, Alaid proposed the apparently noble choice of sacrificing herself and some of her crew to let us inside. It worked, though she perished, and we ran inside. We fought against some surprisingly strong cultists and a devil, though more of Missy's hypnotic magic greatly helped reduce the threat. I also elbow checked the Cambion as he flew, and he fell to the ground, which was quite humorous. We rescued the guy and made our way to the sewers, with what seemed like two hundred imprisoned civilians.

Last were the sewers, where the tragedy unfolded. We went ahead with Lord Regent to clear the area of threats. Unfortunately, the threats came to us. Another wizard lady, this time on a wyvern, as well as her personal guard golem. Sure, the golem packed a punch, and the lady's magic was quite obnoxious, but those paled in comparison to this wingless monstrosity. I was stung by this bastard's tail, and I felt almost all vitality leave me. Never had a strike against me been so powerful, Vince aside. I chose to be more defensive for the rest of this encounter. As she got closer to death, the lady ran away with flight, leaving the other two creatures to fight us.

And then, catastrophe. The wyvern moved over and stung Alavis right in the chest, a large poisonous wound left in him. He went down immediately. More specifically, and I did not understand until after this job was done, death had found him, with a single precise strike.

Myself and Missy kept on fighting, the construct falling soon, thanks to the whole team's combined efforts. We then wailed on the wyvern as revenge, though the beast was quite sturdy. Notice how I excluded Ivor. The idiot attempted over, and over, and over again to tame the beast, even after getting bit by it a few times, and nearly getting struck by its horrible stinger. It is a complete and utter miracle that Lord Regent managed to put two bolts right in its neck before it could get two kills for its death. With all threats taken away, those we gathered were free to escape from town, and we left with a metric ton of gold for our troubles.

Rest in peace, Alavis, for the few days until you are returned to life by the Syndicate. Because apparently, we offer such thing, which is wonderful.

With resolve,

Snap

P.S. I apologize for any less formal writing in this mission review.