Eleasis 1502 DR

The first month at the Syndicate has been quite... eventful. A lot of odd characters in this place, but the lack of questioning has been beneficial. Although I did not expect to meet my kind so soon on my surface journey... and to connect so quickly... and deeply... with some of them... especially after an unexpected meeting with the Matron of Ravens...

As quickly as these bonds were made, so too were they suddenly cracked... because of the tyrant I was made to be. Even so, I will embrace this so I'll keep becoming stronger, making more allies to bring the hurt... and dull mine, and join any mission that will further my goal, my oath of conquering all who stand against us... against all I care for.

They wanted an ilharess, so my ruthlessness shall be their mercy until they're done for.

Signed,
- Ssrin

Eleasis 21st, 1502 DR

Apparently I was right; the jobs on Phlan keep on coming from the same doomguide, no less, and the same crew with a new addition. I expected more undead problems afoot, which was true, but not in the way I thought.

In short, villages around Phlan were assaulted, based on the reports, by a "ghost fleet", and each new attack was closer to Phlan than the previous one. We interrogated(?) one of the survivors, who was a rambling madman, and all we got were some mentions of a "dracolich" who's watching us. Fortunately, a contact from the Black Fist Order offered us better insight and concluded that each attack happens when the moon phase shifts, for what purpose we still don't know; also, an attack pattern indicating which location is the next target.

With a bit of travel and some... minimal costs to it, we reached a recluse island of fishers that looked nearly abandoned. The people were strange and uncooperative, no clue what their deal was, and it gave me a foreboding aura, but I could not find the cause ot true nature of these locals.

We prepared for the attack, only to do nothing as a dozen skeletal(?) kobolds and a couple of individuals attacked us. Even with the sudden assault, and being jumped by 6 of them at once (kobolds have a thing for me, don't they?), we cleared them with no issue, but with no clear idea of their mission beyond the knowledge of being part of the Cult of the Dragon.

Once again, I do not believe this will be my last stop at this place...

Eleasis 14th, 1502 DR

A last-minute job came up, requiring another mercenary, or it wouldn't have gone through... so I decided to cut my fun time with my favorite people short. The job is back in Phlan, always something to do in that place, but not at some clerical house of the dead.

As expected, some undead infestation needed clearing; with my skill set and the people with me for the job, the work was done without issue; each room was cleared of undeath. We did find a group of Welcomers hidden and scared out of their wits deeper in the catacombs; at least this time we let them go and sent a message to their organization not to mess with us... not before grabbing a few treats out of one of their pockets, of course; no kindness done for free.

Our guide Cassy really kicked ass and even helped one avoid meeting the Raven; should keep in touch with her, she was amazing. There was something odd about this event; a wizard in red robes seemed to be the culprit but vanished not long after... I guess my jobs in Phlan aren't done anytime soon.

Eleasis 12th, 1502 DR

Got a job in Icewind Dale, which, after all the heat and intense daylight from the blasting sun of the surface world, was a nice change of pace to be somewhere colder and cloudier. Plus, being able to rock the wonderful outfit made by Sylk was a delight; I shall commission him for more.

The job was from a goliath clan, and the rest of the party was a mix of familiar faces and some new ones. Apparently, the clan's goat livestock was being butchered and mangled by some unknown beast, and they thought that a group of mercenaries literally made for the job of killing should instead guard and milk goats. Guarding the goats wasn't too difficult, but the weather didn't make it easier; the other milked the goats... well, more like tried to do so, and I even wrangled a lonely one myself.

When I wrangled that goat, we discovered evidence of a nearby kill, mangled as the goliaths described, with constant howling around us. Even though hunting the nearby quarry seemed a higher priority, the shepherd tasked us with delivering milk and the intel... at least Victor was on my side, although he seems kind of unhinged about this owlbear thing that no one has seen.

The goliath chief, upon hearing our report, requested that we find the clan's druid to discern more about this beastly encounter. After traversing a frozen river and fighting some ice elementals and an ice toad, we arrived at their lair. Once opened after an annoying set of useless negotiations, we found the lair empty, with a note telling of the druid being overcome by some corruption of a Thzunn entity, under the pseudonym Feral Tongue, who began corrupting other animals from the Dale alongside some creature called Frostclaw.

We decided to bring this revelation back to the chief, but not before being ambushed by a pack of dire wolves in the middle of the night, with the large head of the pack wolf corrupted by some strange magic, giving it more strength and mystical powers. We managed to deal with no issue and report this information back and get our pay, but not before the camp was suddenly ambushed by a creature that left as quickly as it came, leaving a mark similar to the one we saw at the very beginning of the job. Icewind Dale sure is a mysterious place full of odd entities and powers.

Eleasis 10th, 1502 DR

First job as a Syndicate member. I may still be fatigued from my recent rise from the dead, but I will not let that stop me from getting stronger... and repaying the debts I owe. This job had some unexpected outcomes and intriguing allies on the job: a murder-obsessed armor construct, a dragon-obsessed kobold, and 2 charming tieflings. If all Syndicate jobs are like this, then I'm going to have a lot of fun in the future.

The job was simple really: disguise as a merchant, keep the buyer distracted so the others can implant a magical tracker, and collect the item from the merchant using fake money, which was a dragon egg. I don't understand why we did so much planning when we all had the tools needed for this type of job, but nevertheless the quarry was marked and the cargo was acquired... until a group of opportunistic, still-green thugs tried, and failed, to steal our cargo. I will say it was fun making their leader squirm and beg under my boot and blade; although killing him wasn't necessary, the sight of him crawling away naked and scared would have been more entertaining. But as the job concluded, we discovered the egg was a fake, ironic, if I think about it- but we still got paid by the mysterious agent.

Returning to the meeting point, Madame Freona's Tea Kettle, is when things got interesting; aside from almost being made to explode for her fiendish scones, a new, sudden job arrived. Given by some disinterested guards, why are these people even paying taxes? It was information we heard across the room, from a scared woman who mentioned a goblin raid that captured some humans. The place was not hard to find and after a bit of goblin murder and actual negotiations and purchase of the humans, because that's where the morals lie here I suppose, we freed them. Oh, we also killed the bugbear and got our money back before the army of goblins came. We got some extra cash for a Zentharim member to keep quiet, which a girl has no reason to deny.

Overall, quite a good first mission, even if with odd outcomes and even odder actions by us, I believe this is a sign for a lot more fun to come... I should keep in touch with that Zentharim agent; he might know something.

Eleasis 9th, 1502 DR

I finally arrived at Glassfang Syndicate just a day ago, all the "inquiries" I did along the journey from Menzoberranzan led me to this place as being the least "picky" about the type of hired work they accept in their fold - perfect for a temporary place to stay if nothing less, and if I'm lucky maybe find other of my own or those entaglened with them to gather intel.

How lucky I was, not only finding a rivvil, but a full-blooded young noble, maybe a captain or some future consort; he looks the part for either (especially the latter). I did a small "interrogation" with both of them and two humans and... well... one thing led to another, and I found myself spending a long night at the drow's place, Sylk, alongside one of the humans, Tova, who's apparently his partner. Perfect opportunity to learn more about his situation and the neighbouring city around the Syndicate, which I'll explore in the morning.

[Notes scribbled weakly]

Eleasis 10th, 1502 DR

I... can't believe this... me... a first-daughter... brought to the Raven Queen's domain... by some lowly packs of BATS... I... should be stronger... I should have endured...

This was humiliating... and... harrowing... all I saw after was... a bed of raven feathers and... feeling like I was pulled from 3 directions... to the point of breaking... there was skittering... and hisses... and melodic hums... all accompanied by raven cries...

That would have been... the rest of my existence if not... for Sylk and Tova... they brought me back from the Raven's slumber... with the help of 2 orc women... I only met them a day ago... that short time spent was amazing... but I didn't expect to do such an act... for me... why is my heart pounding?