Just a few notes here.  We had our first battle of the journey today.  It
has indeed been too long since we were on the trail!  For we stumbled right
into an ambush.
	Back while at the Stormy Petrel, we were joined by a fellow named Vedrosh.
He was a member of House Pharaneese's Guard, who wanted to go adventuring.
So Divash told him where to find us, and wrote a letter of introduction
for him, so as we would not kill him out of hand.  Life has made us a bit
more suspicious than the normal folk I am afraid, and we do know there are
assassins who have marked us.
	But Vedrosh introduced himself and presented the letter.  After a lengthy
discussion, we decided to let him join our company.  We told him what we
were about, and who was trying to kill us.  He seemed a bit nonplused, and
went a bit pale at the mention of House Dolgenen, but he is a game fellow.
	Two of our party were down with the sickness this day, Merlaine and
Vasquez both were struck down by it, while Bob and Brianna recovered
themselves  So, we packed our horses, and made Vasquez and Merlaine as
comfortable as possible, and set off.
	We have decided that time is of the essence, for we hope to reach the
compound of the slavers before they take the slaves that have that they
have "trained" over the winter away to where ever it is that they take
them.  Marquessa told us that her village was attacked in fall, so that
means the slavers must keep the slaves over the winter, sell them in the
spring, and then spend the summer and autumn gathering more to train over
the winter.  If, by a bit, of haste, we can save the people the slavers
have this year, so much the better.  To this end we have decided to ride to
the nearest river town, which is Nergol, and see if we can hire a boat up
river.  We know it will cost a pretty penny, but it is the fastest way to
reach Mirror lake.  This particular plan sits well with me, for I can use
the time aboard the boat to carve more runesticks.
	But I digress.  We had been traveling for some seven days, and had fallen
nicely into the rhythm of it.  In the mornings while the others do their
rituals of purification, I practice with the great axe.  Vedrosh is a mage
of Air, and so tests the weather and watches the morning clouds.  His
weather forecasts seem to be accurate more often than not.
	Bob and I were in the front of the party, looking for sign on the trail.
We missed it.  There was a loud snapping sound, and a heavy thud, and
before we could react, a huge stout net, which had been concealed under the
snow had wrapped around us and hauled Bob and I, along with our horses! a
good twenty or so feet in the air.  At the same moment the brigands burst
from their place of concealment under piles of sodden leaves and behind
rocks and charged the party.  There were also several archers in the trees
who started loosing shafts upon the party.  Before she could even react,
Brianna took three shafts and was sore wounded.
	Bob and I could do nothing but watch.  We struggled to free ourselves, but
the weight of the horses and the stoutness of the net were too much, and we
could not move to free ourselves or even reach our weapons.
	The party, sensibly enough, dove for the trees while the pack animals,
along with those carrying Merlaine and Vasquez, bolted into the woods.  The
men on the ground were armed with broadswords and large round shields, and
they knew how to use them.  Shali sicked her hounds on one of them, and
they leaped upon him in a second and bore him to the ground where his sword
was useless.  I knew just how he felt, and I rejoiced that it was him and
not I that was going down under the hounds.  The huge dogs made short work
of that man.
	Vedrosh meanwhile, was hard pressed with his attacker.  He had taken
several shafts, and was wounded.  The two of them sparred for some time,
before Vedrosh landed a good blow with his javelin that eviscerated his
man.  The brigand, seeing his blood and entrails spilling out of the wound,
crawled off behind a rock to try to medic himself.  He died a minute or two
later.
	While all this had been going on, the archers in the trees had been
wrecking havoc amongst our party.  Brianna tried to bring her wondrous
Elven bow into play, but her attacker cut its string with his broadsword,
and so she was reduced to throwing daggers.  Shali meanwhile, had been
desperately preparing and casting her walls of thorns spell, to try to give
some cover from the withering arrow fire.  For the most part she succeeded.
	By now, most of the party was badly wounded, with no reserves of fatigue
left, the wounds they were taking now were much more serious, and Bob and I
were still up in the net.  When one of Shali's wall of thorns cut off the
archers last line of sight from the people on the ground, they started
shooting at us!  That was the last straw.  After struggling for a bit, I
reached my runewand and managed to cast a pyrogenisis spell on the thick
rope that held the net in the air, and it began to burn.  I knew that the
mass of myself, Bob and the horses would create quite a mess when we hit
the ground thirty feet below, but we would probably survive..unless of
course, a horse landed on top of one of us.  As the rope burned, Bob and I
struggled to position ourselves so that we were above the horses, we did
not make much headway in this regard.
	The rope burned through and we plummeted down, landing all in a heap.  The
horses of course were panicked, and one of them gave me a solid kick with a
hoof.  We had all taken a fair mangling with that fall, but all of us were
alive, and miracle of miracles, there seemed to be no broken bones, even
amongst the horses!  At that point the horses stopped thrashing about and
lay still on the ground.  I imagined that it was Shali who had cast one of
her binding spells on the animals, and for that i was most thankful.  Bob
and I then extricated ourselves from the net and mad our way as best we
could to the cover of a tree, for we were now the archers only easy target,
and they were no fools these archers.  Several times my armor turned what
would have been a nasty arrow wound into a minor scratch or bruise.  I love
metal armor!
	In short order Bob and I had found cover.  Bob joined the rest of the
party in shooting at the archers ensconced in the trees, with a pair on the
tops of tall rocks.  Since we were all now in sheltered locations, the
battle seemed to settle into one of attrition.  Our spirits were raised
considerably when Vedrosh landed a good shot with one of his javelins,
knocking his man clear off the rock.  He fell to earth with a thud we heard
from where we crouched.
	I withdrew a runestick from my bag and began the incantation.  I had to
use the magical energy stored in my runewand as I had none left myself what
with all the arrows I'd been shot with.  Lo and behold, the spell worked.
I had, for the first time, successfully summoned the spirit of Tshegi!
	I asked the spirit if it would mind helping us in our desperate plight,
and it agreed that it would.  With a thunderous whooshing of its wings,
Tshegi lofted into the air, and began to make diving attacks on the archers
in the trees.  We cheered and whooped at this sight.  With that done, i
unlimbered my composite bow and began to lay down fire upon the man who was
still hiding in the rocks.
	The archers in the trees, now being attacked by this spirit hawk, fired
upon it instead of us.  Woe unto them however, they had no silver arrows,
and so their shots, although accurate, went right through Tshegi.  For his
part, the spirit dove and dove again.  It took him some time, for the
archers were well concealed by branches, but eventually he scored a hit
upon one of them, knocking him out from his perch.  He made a most
satisfying thud as he hit the ground at the base of the tree; that man did
not move again.
	Brianna, still astride her horse, but out of daggers, tried to dash from
one tree's shelter to another.  She did not make it.  The archers,
frustrated at firing upon the spirit hawk, took their frustration out on
her and feathered her and her horse with several shafts as she made the
dash.  She tumbled from her horse and lay still on the ground.
	When I see one of our party go down, I am accustomed to looking at
Merlaine, who is sensitive to the death of beings around her.  The look on
her face can usually tell me if my companion lives or not.  But Merlaine
was not around, and so Brianna's fate was unknown.  Just then Tshegi
knocked another archer from the trees, but a short while after this one
fell, he got up and drew a sword.  I set down my bow and drew my axe,
advancing toward him.  Shali, bless her heart, saw my intent and manifested
several walls of thorns to shield me from the arrows of the remaining
archers, then she ran to join me in combating this fellow.
	Tshegi knocked the third and fourth men from the trees in short order, and
the ones that survived the fall joined up on the ground and drew blades.
Bob and Vedrosh advanced to engage them, as there was no more concern about
arrow fire from above.  After that, the battle was swift and bloody.  Shali
dispatched our man with a well placed thrust of her fancy new Main Gauche,
and we ran over to join Bob and Vedrosh.  By the time we had gotten there,
Bob was badly wounded, Vedrosh was down from a sword wound to the side, and
two of the three attackers were dead.  The last man, seeing the way things
were going, turned to flee, and may have made it so exhausted were we, but
Tshegi scored an impressive hit upon the man's back which left several of
the bandits internal organs, in a most external arrangement.
	And so, we collected ourselves and examined our two fallen comrades.
Luckily they were just unconscious and not dead.  After some hot herbal tea
from Merlaine's supply and some healing magic from Bob, they both were up
and on their feet again.  I do swear however, that the blood drained from
Vedrosh's face somewhat when I pounded him on the back and congratulated
him on surviving his first battle with us, but that next time I hoped to be
able to show him a real fight, as these were clearly amateurs.


			        By My Hand, This Thirteenth Day Of Abril,
				         The Year of Our Lady 540
					
								                                  Drashak Khea Malari