(misc. tracking is for keeping track of his woodcarving collection ^_^)
Is this of common practice for guilds? An interesting way to go about records and employee reviews.
As of the end of The Fading, I have been staying at the Syndicate for about one and a half months. It feels as if both a long year and only a minute has passed, although that may be my muddled sleep schedule disturbing my sense of time. But my time here has been, surprisingly, quite pleasant.
Although mercenaries are technically freelancers, I've never felt a particular kinship with them before. They're oft to be troublemakers, to put it lightly- a majority of them of low renown and only focused on making coin, consequences or other livelihoods be damned.
Perhaps things are different, under the watchful eye and security of a guild, because the people that I've met here are all lovely and helpful- immediately friendly, even to an unfamiliar or odd face such as mine. I dare say I've even made a few friends. It's a deeply stark contrast from my travels just to get to Shining Falls, and one that I am very thankful for. (I've even picked up a new hobby, potion making- thank you, Yap, and my fellow students!)
That is all to say, however, that I'm unsure how much longer I'll be staying. I came here for a specific purpose, and as soon as it's fulfilled, I'm heading straight back the way I came... deserts and bandits be damned. I'll miss this place, though, so perhaps letters will be a viable alternative to simply never communicating with anyone here again.
If I'm particularly lucky, perhaps a teleportation circle will be stationed past Anauroch, near the forests I lovingly call home. It may still take some travel time, yes, but nothing as grueling as the months-long trek I made.
As for an actual report... Things seem to be going well for the Syndicate. Plenty of new faces signing up what feels like multiple times a week, members constantly honing their craft or their skills in combat, even a few making their own houses or businesses purely off of their success in missions. It's impressive, on all fronts, and I hope for everyone's sake that Marpenoth doesn't break this streak.
Even if there have been a few... alarming posts on the notice board. I believe there was a kidnapping at some point later in the month? I wish all the best for those involved.
But yes, I would go so far as to say that I'm enjoying my stay and employment.
(A few more sentences are started and then hastily scribbled out- "I should head home," "For my own sake," "For my loved ones sakes,"...)
It certainly wouldn't be... terrible, if I had to spend more time here.
GM: TorgnarlyThe following report is penned in quickly-written, loopy cursive:
This day was rather mundane until, only a few hours before we arrived at the job's destination, five of us were made aware of a new, urgent request on the notice board. Preparations were swiftly made, and in no time at all Murtin, Mika, Kyani, Onics, and myself were sent out .
The request only warned us of billowing smoke in the sky, and once we were close enough we found a rather obvious source; a wizard's tower, erupted into flames with a panicking apprentice in front of it. After informing us that many accidentally-summoned monsters had practically taken over the tower, we assured him that we would handle it and headed inside.
The first floor was vacant, but the three floors above did indeed have many small, imp-like creatures running amok and either stoking fires themselves or taking advantage of the unique destruction a fire brings. On the fourth floor, we came across a full-blown Fire Elemental next to a summoning circle. The fight to bring down this one was much, much tougher than the small ones below, and after a frightful minute or so of my companions almost dying, we succeeded. The tower was unfortunately still heavily burnt, but it shouldn't be in danger of outright collapsing into ash.
Each of my teammates were valuable members to have on this mission- I don't know how I'd fare with even one of them missing. I hope to go on further missions with them soon... provided that we do not cook to death during so.
GM: 𝔍𝔞𝔡𝔢|Vincel²⁰|Bisky⁸|Lief¹⁵The following report is penned in quickly-written, loopy cursive:
The Syndicate was contacted by a Goliath clan farther up north, in Icewind Dale to be exact, by the chiefess asking for assistance. Her clan had been attacked and menaced by a druid by the name of Feral Tongue, and his owlbear companion Frost Claw.
Upon arriving, we had been given more details of Feral Tongue's situation; she said that they had been corrupted by a certain stone, best described as some sort of purple obsidian, inlaid in their staff- one that infects the mind, draining them of sense and compassion. Being an old friend of the chiefess, she urged us to free Feral Tongue from the effects of the obsidian in a non-murderous way.
She also sent us with a few companions, most of which would later flee at the first sign of trouble, but one bravely stuck with us for the whole mission; Kaskur, a goliath deeply frustrated and willing to put a stop to all of this.
We soon made the trek to what was suspected to be Feral Tongue's current abode, and at the base of an impressive mountain, we encountered their owlbear. We had gotten to see the effects of the corrupting crystal firsthand, with horrific patches of obsidian growing out of its flesh and fur, spurring it into fiercely attacking us. It wasn't terribly difficult to put it down, although I did feel a sense of sadness for it- the corruption had simply gone too far, and we lacked any healer skilled enough to potentially free it of its infection.
(This is also the part where those few companions mentioned before fled.)
After the fight with Frost Claw, we came across an ancient door sealing a tunnel- and, I admit, our intellectual prowess was not enough to save us from many bites (yes, bites, as the door had gods-damned fangs). But I was able to ascertain many of the magical symbols that had been keeping the door locked, and after long discussions and good old trial and error, we got inside!
A rather plain and short tunnel, we didn't come across much besides a curious imp and his slime companions. I believe he had prior business with Dorris, and so urged us to merely have some drinks with him instead of... well, I presume having his friends melt us in their acidic interiors. The drinks had... interesting effects, my poor friend Ferris in particular having his mouth magically sealed shut, but it wasn't anything horribly debilitating otherwise.
Not long after taking a small rest, we went down to the icy basement that Feral Tongue dwelled in.
I'm thankful that my companions Aber and Jueinuma are among the toughest and most determined that I've seen from the Syndicate, because Feral Tongue was backed by not only two corrupted polar bears, but swathes of obsidian spires. Dorris, Ferris, and I did our best to support from the backlines, and after picking off the bears, we were able to knock out Feral Tongue and separate them from the corrupting staff. I'm unsure if we made it out wholly unscathed- Jue and Aber were acting a bit oddly after the obsidian spires exploded near them- but there were no casualties on the mission besides the corrupted animals.
Feral Tongue and Kaskur were escorted back to the clan, much to the delight of the chiefess, and we soon made our way back to the Syndicate. My teammates did wonderfully on the mission, in spite of how many dangers presented themselves (I did in fact have to spend my spellcasting reserves on Cure Wounds). I hope that I'll have the privilege to accompany them on more jobs in the future.
GM: LyssThe following report is penned in quickly-written, loopy cursive:
On the last day of Eleasis, I, along with Dorris, D.U.S.K, Rilifen, and Murtin, were tasked to escort Ms. Forgeborn's caravan. While the escort itself was a simple task, about halfway through our trip, we were approached by what appeared to be a lost dog. On its collar was the name of its owner, and that if the dog was indeed lost, to return it to a wizard's tower nestled in the Greypeak Mountains. The dog herself, however, seemed to try to be urgently guiding us off of the path, which we interpreted it as a cry for help.
Concerned that the owner of the dog, or perhaps someone else, was in danger, we had gotten express permission from Ms. Forgeborn to follow the dog for a short while- Ms. Forgeborn herself was content to take a break on the peaceful trail and stay behind.
The dog had lead us to a cave opening in the nearby mountains, one that we soon discovered was filled with powerful steam vents and, in a section we discovered later, lava. I am unsure of the exact name of this cave (I am happy to provide vague coordinates if need be), but we did soon find that it was occupied at some point. Although, it was mostly devoid of life- empty bedrolls, goblinoid skeletons, and a hidden room with nothing but broken objects and some potions.
Eventually, we went back to an earlier fork in the path, previously inaccessible due to blistering, concentrated steam. The potions we collected blunted most of the harm, but it did take us a perilous minute to crack the magically-augmented door at the end of the hall.
Inside this locked room, we discovered a party of other people along with caged animals, of which the other party had captured in order to please a dragon that supposedly ruled this cave. After some negotiations, they agreed to leave peacefully and let us free the animals. Making sure they were alright, the animals accompanied us on our way out.
This is where the report may get a bit messy, loathe as I am to admit. A red dragon had suddenly accosted us not a minute after we left the cave. He claimed that the dog who lead us here was not a dog, but rather a druid by the name of Dell. She'd killed his parents many years ago, and he was determined to get his vengeance- giving us the choice between giving up Dell and the animals, or being roasted alongside them.
Murtin was quite decisive, thankfully, and simply shot the dragon with what must have been a bolt of magic guided directly by the god he worships.
The ensuing fight was quick but fraught with danger for my teammates; despite the dragon being young, its fury and pure strength were still quite a lot for us to contend with. Not to mention a few of his hired hands had ambushed us midway through. I am happy to report, however, that my teammates were more than capable of handling ourselves, wielding weapons and magic alike with ease. Not a single one of us was downed, and the dragon fell in less than a minute.
Dell was happy to heal us afterwards, and made sure that her animal companions were safe before leading us to her friend and home- the 'owner' mentioned earlier in this report, living in a tower further in the mountains. After a quick conversation, we made our way back to Ms. Forgeborn.
The actual escort mission was quite peaceful, and they made it to their location safely and on time. Our travel back to the Syndicate was similarly uneventful.
The four who explored alongside me were invaluable teammates, each providing useful insight, practical skills, and an impressive showcase of combat-oriented abilities. I hope to go on further missions with each of them.
~ Dusty
