Today, I arrived in Ilmwatch. Without much trouble, I managed to book passage on a merchant ship, the Flying Dutchman, bound for Scardale. In exchange for the generous fare, however, Captain Ikaemos has requested that I help out with work on the ship. Given the price, this isn't a hardship, and it gives me something with which to pass the time.

Well, this is a disappointment. It turns out that Bess stowed away on the ship. She said she ran away from home for the same reason as I: she didn't want to follow the path father was insisting for us. I don't really care about dad's feelings, but mom must be heartbroken now that we are both gone. I need to ask Bess how mom is doing.

The captain was amazingly accomodating; he agreed to allow Bess to stay on, however we will need to pay for her passage.

Bess said she was going to follow me to Shieldmeet, but did not know what she would do after that. I don't want to tell her to go back home, but I don't know that it's going to be safe having her follow me around.

Today, the ship docked at Sarchel. Bess and I toured the city for a short while, and I performed some acrobatics in the market to try and raise money for Bess. I managed a respectable keep, and Bess helped out with some very nice flute playing.

The ship docked at Procampur yesterday evening; it's the last stop before Scardale. The captain informed me the ship would be staying for three or four days, so I had a bit of time to spare. Bess and I found a tavern a distance away from the docks called the "Drunken Dragon", and we talked with the manager about doing a performance. He agreed - he was more than happy for a performance. Bess and I left and practiced in town for a few hours before going back to perform. The crowd seemed to love my acrobatics, and Bess' flute playing only improved the atmosphere.

After Bess and I finished, the barkeep introduced us to a dwarf named Thanos - a cleric of a dwarven god named Dumathoin, who is also traveling to Essembra for Shieldmeet. The barkeep then introduced Thanos and I to a man named Alexy Traven. Alexy is the manager of a mine several miles outside of town. There are daily shipments of ore from the mine to the town, and today's shipment never arrived, so Alexy was getting extremely worried. Rightfully so, with six people traveling with the shipment.

Alexy offered the three of us 100 gp each to investigate the problem and deal with it as approprate. Upon investigation, we found that some orcs, assisted by a human magic user of some kind, had killed all six men transporting the ore. We routed the orcs swiftly, though we took on a considerable amount of damage ourselves, and brought the cart carring a substantial portion of the day's ore haul back to town. Alexy was pleased to get the ore, though disappointed at the news. He arranged for a local healer to come by and heal us, and Thanos and I agreed we should go back to where we found the orcs and investigate the tracks leading off the road.

It's a shame to see innocent people killed when they have done no wrong. by Ilmater's name, their deaths shall not be in vain.
During the battle, Bess played a song on her flute that seemed to make my attacks strike truer. I'm not exactly sure how she did that, but, I think it helped us win the fight.

Thanos, Bess, and I set out early and followed the tracks we found. They led to a cave guarded by orcs. Thanos and I quickly killed them and infiltrated the cave. Between the two of us, we killed a good dozen orcs and a human priest that seemed to be leading the orcs. In the depths of the cave, we found a pair of nice tapestries, though we do not know what their origin is. We also found other materials, that seemed to indicate that they were building a temple or base of operations of some sort in the cave. Probably, the human had hired the orcs as hired grunts; each orc had a pouch of 20 sp. Fortunately, the evil-doers have now been stopped. For now, anyways.

During the fight, I felt a new power surge inside of me. I'm not exactly sure, but, I think that since then, I am a little stronger than I was before.

On our way out, we investigated a door that had been locked with a chain. Inside, we found two caskets, seemingly guarded by a ghoul. Before I could attack it, the cursed beast bit and paralyzed me. Thanos at least managed to strike it once before he was summarially paralized. Fortunately, Bess was able to fling a few daggers into the wretched beast, destroying it. Thanos, once he could move again, bludgeoned the thing into a puddle of goo.

Before, I was uncertain of Bess following me, but if she hadn't come, I would be dead now. She saved my life today, and that of Thanos, and I can't in good concience send her away now. I just hope she's all right. She was really shaken up after we fought that ghoul. I now know I need to be more careful around undead monsters. I'm of no use to anyone if I can't move.

Thanos inspected the caskets, and discovered they were dwarven-made. Inside were two dwarven warriors, buried with battle-axes. He did some more investigation, and concluded that the cave was also made by dwarves. I helped him clean up and re-seal the crypt, and we went back to town to report our findings to Alexy, and then to the local Dwarf leadership so the cave could be properly taken care of. Alexy gave us our payment, minus a fee for the services of the healer we used.

I will pray to Ilmater, thanking him for whatever fate caused my sister to follow me, and for meeting Thanos, and for having the strength to accomplish this mission to meaning to those who unjustly lost their lives.

While waiting for the ship to depart, I was practicing my skills with Bess. I can tell that my reflexes have improved a little since I left the monastery, but I have become a lot better at deflecting projectiles. I could never quite do that at the monastery, but I suppose being in a real situation where I was being shot at by an enemy intent on killing me helped hone my reflexes.

I talked with Captain Ikaemos, and he agreed to take Thanos on as a passenger, with the same considerations as me. I think this bodes well for the future. Thanos is a very adept fighter, and honorable, too. The two of us make a great team, and I would gladly fight side-by-side with him again.

The ship arrived at Scardale this afternoon. As Thanos, Bess, and I were departing the ship, Captain Ikaemos asked us if we could do him a favor. He requested that we deliver a small package to a Captain Hern of the Riders of Mistledale in Ashabenford. Since this isn't too far out of our way to Essembra, and since we have plenty of time before Shieldmeet, we accepted.