I apologize for the length of time between this entry and the last, but
life has a habit of getting in the way of ones leisure time.  A bit has
happened since last I set quill to this journal, even though I did have
ample time on the boat, I had studies to pursue as well, but I get ahead of
myself.  Do let us begin just at an earlier moment which was most memorable
and noteworthy, namely, an attack by out old bug-tattooed friend.  Yes
indeed, we were struck again.  And this time, our attackers were no
amateurs.
    	 It was well into third watch, which is Merlaine and Vedrosh, when I
was awakened by Merlaine's cry of "Attack!".  It took me some few seconds
to stumble out of my sleeping sack and grab my battle axe and shield.  When
I had a chance to look around, I saw our attackers, skeletons.  There must
have been near to a dozen skeletons emerging from the woods into the circle
of firelight.  We had no time to organize or form up, as they were upon us
almost instantly.
   	 Now, skeletons are usually easy foes, they have little or no skill
with their weapons, and crumble with but a few solid hits.   Vedrosh had
yet to learn this however, and the look of dismay that crossed his face
when his well aimed javelin passed through the ribs of his foe without even
nicking the abomination was comical to behold.  Bob forgot himself, and
charged into the fray with his spear lowered as he usually does.  He soon
changed his tactics however, as he discovered that spears, like javelins,
are about as effective against skeletons as snowballs against a forest
fire.
     	For my part, I stood my ground, armored as I was only in leather and
not my cherished metal, as one can sleep in leather armor if one has the
knack of it, but sleeping in a suit of metal is impossible.   Shali had no
time to order her hounds, as she was busy sizing up the battle and
examining the tactics ( if they can be called that) of our opponents.  The
hounds however, took matters into their own hands when one of them was hit
by a scimitar wielded by one of our attackers.   I daresay that the dogs
looked almost overjoyed to have actually found a bone that fought back
before they buried it.  Not for long did it fight however, for the dogs
piled on it and shook it apart in short order.  I had finished off a pair
of the nastys and Vasquez was standing in the midst of our fire, with a
roar and whooshing of flame signaling repeated success with her flame bolt
spell.   Bones make a most unusual noise when they explode due to extreme
heat you know.
	All was going fairly well, we had taken some wounds, but none serious, and
our fleshless attackers were definitely getting the worst of
matters...there were only two left, when Shali shouted " beware, these are
but peasants before the storm!, prepare for attack!" , referring no doubt
to the Kathorian's charming habit of arming hordes of slaves and peasants
and driving them before their advancing army as a first line.  When the
peasant army meets the first line of their foe, they do not last long and
the slaughter is immense.  But this tactic does give the real Kathoran army
time to advance unhindered towards their foe, and it also tires out the
warriors of the opposing side.  All in all it is an effective tactic, if
you care nothing for the lives you squander when employing it.
	And as usual, Shali was right.  Not but a few seconds after her shout, I
heard the sound of mourning doves crying from the woods.  Now, mourning
doves do not call at night, so I knew this must be our real attackers
signaling to each other.  Almost immediately, the sound of doves was
replaced with the ominous sound of a heavy crossbow being fired, and I
heard Merlaine cry out.  More heavy crossbows were fired, and their bolts
slammed into Brianna, Vedrosh, myself and Shali with devastating effect.
	Now my wounds were serious, and the pain from the bolt was almost more
that I could stand.  I heard Merlaine yelling something, and I knew for
sure that I had probably seen my last days on the earth when I made out her
words.  She was yelling that the bolts were poisoned.   Even has I heard
her, the burning sensation was spreading out from the wound, and my vision
was growing blurry and diffuse.  As my sight faded , I saw several men
running towards us.  They were cloaked all in black, and the shadows clung
to them, so they flowed through the woods like thick black water.  Their
weapons as well were wreathed in shadows that moved and writhed as if they
were living things.  Then all was dark.
	I fear the rest of this account will be rather sketchy, as I could hear,
but not see.  I was determined that I would not go down without a fight.  I
dropped my weapons and after a bit of searching, found the runestick I was
seeking.  I drew the power and charged the stick, dropping it upon the
ground at my back.  It is a good thing that it is the mind's eye, and not a
beings physical eyes that do the seeing for spellwork.  I created a
runewall at my back and shaped it into a semi-circle, so that nothing, be
they friend or foe, could come at me from behind.  Then I picked up my
battle axe and throwing axe, readied myself and waited for the first being
to step within range of my weapon.
	All around my I could hear the sounds of the fray.  I could hear Vedrosh
yelling " can anybody see!?  Can anybody see?"  mixed with the occasional
sounds of sword against armor as he fought with an opponent.  From the
increasingly desperate sound of his voice, I surmised that he was losing.
Brianna I could hear crying, tears of frustration pouring down her face as
she, like I, waited for an attacker to approach her, and being able to do
nothing but listen the the desperate crys from her companions.
	The sound of flamespells from Vasquez's direction stopped, and soon
thereafter I heard the sounds of sword on sword from an area close by where
she had been, but how she was faring against her opponent I had no idea.
Bob was charging around like a madman, yelling and screaming and running
opponents through with his spear.
I heard Merlaine gasping in pain and crawling through the leaves of last
winter which blanketed the ground.  Then I heard her scream at the same
instant I heard yet another heavy crossbow discharge.
	It was with great happiness that I heard the sound of a man being dragged
under by hounds.  They give a particular sort of gurgling scream that is
unique in my experience.  It is an unpleasant sound to be sure, but it
brought a fierce joy to my heart.  Soon after I heard another death scream,
and I surmised that Merlaine had killed her assailant.  I could hear Bob
and Vedrosh engaged with their attacker still.  Of Shali I heard not a
sound, and I figured she was doing what Brianna and I were doing, holding
ready for whatever came.
	After a time, the sound of mourning doves reached my ears again, and I
could tell that  our attackers had broken off the fight.  And then..miracle
of miracles, Merlaine pressed something into my hand, a vial, and whispered
that the venom on the bolts was that of a spitting naja, and the vial was
one of the snake bite antivenins she had so recently purchased.    Merlaine
told me that two of our attackers were slain, and that two more badly
wounded had run off into the woods.  Brianna was down, and the entire party
was sorely wounded.  I know I was barley able to remain conscious.  It
seems as if having two of their members dead, and the rest badly wounded,
with the shadow weapon spell long since dissipated and their protective
spells of liquid shadows beginning to wear off, they had no stomach left
for the fight.  'Tis a good thing for us, for they could have finished us
easily I think, but  they did not feel like facing Bob and Vasquez, who
could still see and who had inflicted great damage, along with Shali's
hounds, who, lacking any orders, were still worrying the carcass of the man
they had brought down.  Merlaine told me it was a truly grisly sight.
	We had ones less antivenin potion than we needed, so I decided to give
mine to Vedrosh, as his primary weapon is one that can be thrown, and he is
good with it.  Bob began to do his healing spells, but only had strength
enough for one or two, but those were enough to get Brianna on her feet at
least, and Vedrosh not so near death as he had been.
	Once everyone was at least on their feet and all but me able to see, my
companions quickly searched the bodies of the two slain.  They found
nothing of much value, and their weapons were of average quality, now that
the spells were gone.  So, we hurriedly took stock and packed up our
belongings.  Then, with many of us clinging to our horses as we rode, and
the after effects of the venom making every step seem an eternity, we
stumbled off into the woods, away from the direction our assailants had
fled.  We had not even the time or energy to disguise the traces of our
passing.  Our only thought was to get away from that place.  We did not
want them to be able to see or guess how bad off we were, and we knew that
if we stayed in that camp, they would attack yet again.  We would most
surely not survive another attack.  Even a band of mildly annoyed squirrels
could have destroyed our party at that point I think,  so badly wounded
were we.

	We rode slowly through the woods for the rest of the night, which was only
a few hours, before we found a clearing in which we could make camp for the
day.  Our day was disturbed only once, when we heard horses on the rode.
We were a hundred yards or so off the rode, so doubted they could see us.
Shali wanted to see who the travelers were, and so stole out to take a
look.  When she came back, she said it was indeed our attackers, riding
down the rode like hell itself was after them.  She surmised that they were
making for the nearest town, Nergol.  There they could obtain fresh horses,
for she said theirs appeared to be near death with exhaustion.  Also, once
in a town, the assassins would be on their ground, better able to use their
poisons and disguises.  This news did not sit well with us, but there was
little we could do about it at this point.
	We spent that day healing.  Merlaine drew the venom from my wounds and
cured the blindness.  Between her and Bob, they managed to get the party
into some semblance of shape before night fall.  We traveled only a little
in the evening, but we could see the lighted walls of Nergol only a mile or
two distant when we camped again.
	In the morning, Merlaine drew out her crystal balls and used them to spy
out the assassins.  They had split up.  The main group was camped in the
woods somewhere, while one of their number was sitting in a tavern eating
breakfast, disguised yet again.  No doubt that man eating breakfast would
report to his companions immediately on spotting us.  Yet we had to get
into the town, as that was the only way to hire a boat, for I doubt we
would encounter many boatmen wandering around in the woods outside of town.
	It was decided that Shali,Brianna and Bob would enter the town.  Shali
because she had a fair amount of cash in a guild account which could be
used to hire the boat; the rest of us were fairly strapped for cash.
Brianna would go in because she had the skills of a good observer, and
could see and overhear things that the rest of us could not.  She was also
adept at detecting followers, or following somebody if that became
necessary.  And Bob would go, because two women traveling lightly armed so
near the deadlands would attract attention, and that was the one thing we
did not want to do.  We decided that I and the other non-humans were too
much at risk of attracting notice to enter Nergol.  Shali used her skill
with makeup and such to disguise herself and Brianna and Bob as best she
could.  When she was through, if I had not seen the transformation myself,
I would hardly know it was them.  I just hoped those watching for us were
fooled as well, and it was with trepidation that I watched the three of
them set off for town, after having rehearsed their story that they were
traveling merchants headed north to negotiate a treaty with the mountain
folk.
	Several hours later, Bob came jogging back.  He told us that there was but
one tavern in town, the one our watcher, and all the boat captains were at!
He then told us that the three of them had managed to find the captain of
the one boat big enough to carry us and all our animals.  And Shali had
negotiated, albeit in quiet terms, with the captain for passage with our
watcher sitting not twenty feet away!   Bob then told us that the boat was
leaving in a few hours.  We packed with haste and made our way into the
town.  Being so near the deadlands, and thus in the way of any attack from
Kathor, or worse, the guards at the gate questioned us thoroughly, and were
suspicious about admitting such a large and well armed party into their
town.  They insisted on escorting us through the town and to the docks,
where they saw us onto the ship.  Even though we did not stay in town even
an hour, they made us pay the gate tax.

	All of us were most happy to see the docks of that town recede in the
distance, leaving our pursuers behind once again.  Then Vedrosh confirmed
yet again our wisdom in taking him along.  The wind was from the north-
west, and we were traveling west, so our progress was slow.  Vedrosh stood
on deck, and gave all the crew a fright when he began to cast a spell.
When the spell was complete, a good stiff breeze now blew directly from the
east and  our speed was thrice what it had been!  Even the captain and crew
now looked upon us, and Vedrosh most especially, with new favor.
	Every morning Vedrosh would go on decks and test the wind, then mutter his
incantations, and lo!  the wind would be at our back!  It was in this way
that a journey that usually takes two months was lessened to three weeks
time.
	
	The journey itself was uneventful enough.  I practiced my great axe in the
mornings, and carved rune to stick during the afternoon and evening hours.
Merlaine used the time to study one of the books we found in the mountains
so long ago.  She says it is a wonder of information on the arts of
healing.  She also used her crystalline orbs to spy out our assassins,
until we passed beyond range of Nergol, and found them still waiting in the
woods with their watcher at the tavern, for at least two days!  Her and
Vedrosh also took turns with the ships crew, as they both have some skill
in navigating ships, but have had little chance to practice it of late.  On
nights when the moon is bright the captain travels through the night.  When
there is little light to reflect off the water, he lays-to near the shore,
just out of bow-shot.  Vedrosh tells us that this ship is most probably a
smuggler, for there were several stoutly locked iron chests in the hold,
which Vedrosh noticed have now been covered over with the soiled  bedding
from our horses.  This, Vedrosh says, is to throw of the sniffing dogs
which the customs agents regularly use.  So he assumes that this fellow is
smuggling drugs or spices, and was in the docks of Nergol looking for a
cargo of poorly preserved fish or something like it to bury his true cargo
under.
	Beggars cannot be choosers, and since this was the only ship big enough to
carry us, and the captain has been polite enough not to ask of us our
business, we shall not ask his business of him.

	Our river journey ended this day.  We found ourselves deposited on the
tiny docks of the town of Deep River Run, at two hours before dawn in the
pouring rain.  The ship's captain seemed most anxious to be off and make
good use of his early arrival in this part of the river, so we wished him
well.
	The town of Deep River Run is really nothing more than a huge logging
outpost.  There was firelight coming from the windows of an enormous
building which must have been several hundred feet long, so that is where
we went, if only to stand under the eaves out of the rain until the
daylight.   When we knocked upon the door, the noise we heard from inside
quieted suddenly, and the door was slowly opened by a huge human with a
weathered and scarred face.  He asked of us our business.  When we told him
we were travelers who only wished to get out of the rain for a few hours,
he opened the door wide and invited us in.  It would seem as if they are
used to travelers at this place.
	There must have been several hundred people under that one roof.  It was a
crowded, noisy and boisterous hall, as all the lumberers of Deep River Run
were waiting for their breakfast.  Since the cook was already preparing a
meal for several hundred, adding a few extra places was not a problem.  We
had a most filling meal of sausage, fried corn dough with mounds of berries
and cream, and liberal helpings of bread dipped in honey, and many pitchers
of honeyed ale.  And they charged us not a copper for it.  Merlaine and
Shali repaid their courtesy by helping in the serving...we did not stick
around long enough to help with the dishes, as that is a battle that is
beyond our strength at this point in time.
	So it was that just as the sun rose, we exited the gates of Deep River
Run, along with some 200 other people, and over 20 teams of heavy horse,
each team being an eight horse hitch.  After a short way, our path and that
of the lumber teams parted directions, and we were once again alone in the
woods.  For the next few days we traveled without incident.  Then, on the
fifth day, we came across the burnt ruins of a village.
	For several miles, Bob and I had been seeing signs of humanoids in the
area, the occasional cut tree or freshly broken branch and such.   So, it
was decided that Bob, Vedrosh and Brianna would go ahead, with spells of
Walking Unseen upon them, while the rest of us made an early camp.  They
came back a few hours later, reporting the remains of a village, with but a
few stone foundations to mark it.  They also had spied a dozen or so gnolls
using the ruins as a camp, and so had crept away, as gnolls are nocturnal,
and Bob wanted to warn us before night fell and the band woke up.
	'Twas a good thing he returned when he did, for the gnolls, being half dog
( and the worst half, in my opinion) had sniffed out the trail left by our
companions.  And not half an hour after Bob made his report, we heard a
ghastly howl from the darkening woods, and out of the shadows came loping
that very same band of gnolls, having tracked Bob to his lair, so to speak.
	There is something unnatural about gnolls.  That three legged gait they
use to cover ground is unnerving to behold, rather like a dog, but running
on threes instead of all fours. In their fourth hand they held their
weapons, pole arms and mattocks, no doubt stolen from slaughtered miners.
As the pack approached, we formed into a rough line, with Vedrosh at one
end, and Shali and her hounds at the other.  Vedrosh began to launch his
javelins and Brianna began to pelt the pack with arrows.  Thanks to them,
two of the loping monstrosities did not reach our ranks.  But the other
eight did.
	It was a well fought battle.  When the creatures were upon us, they stood
up to their full height and grasped their weapons in two hands.  Brianna
abandoned her bow in favor of her feather staff, Vedrosh continued to fight
with javelins while Merlaine did her normal trick of Walking Unseen and
striking from behind.  Bob also went Unseen and harried with arrows any of
the pack that tried to flank us and thus be able to come at us from the
rear.  They were tough however, and we did not escape unscathed.  Brianna
took a bad beating, and in the end had to retreat to take up her bow again,
as her feather staff had become lodged in the tree she was fighting next
to.  The final blow of the battle was struck by myself, as I hurled my
battle axe past Vedrosh's ear and into the back of a gnoll who was set upon
Brianna.  Only two of us, myself and Brianna took any really serious
injury, I was near death and my vision was beginning to fade, and Brianna
was in a similar state, but the rest of the party was only exhausted and
somewhat wounded.  Perhaps taking on three gnolls wielding pole-axes by
myself was not the brightest idea I have ever had.  But all is well and
ends well.  The creatures of course, had little of value on them, and so we
moved the bodies a distance away from the camp.

And so now it draws near the time for my watch and I must arm, rather than
write.
	

                                By my hand, this ninteenth day of Maya
                                              The Year of Our Lady 540.


Drashak Khea Malari