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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 863370" data-attributes="member: 5675">Yvgeny's third letter home:To His Eminence Pietr Orik,Temple of Ilmater,King’s Palace Square,Heliogabalus. Your Grace, A lull in the hectic activities of the Clearwater Crusaders has allowed me to bring you up to date on events that occurred after the reclamation of Clearwater from the vampires. This missive should be more succinct than my previous effort! The party stayed for a few days in the village after we had banished the nightspawn, mainly on rebuilding duties (houses and souls). Then, with the defences complete, we left to return to Dagger Falls. Our trip back was notable for three occurrences. One: Halbrinn has a loathing for Kobolds, evidenced by his annihilation (by fireball) of a group of dog-men that tried to hide from us, just off the road. He excused this on the grounds that a merchant caravan would probably be their target after we had moved on. I have to admit there was little suffering involved, it being mere seconds between the spell being cast and half a dozen charred corpses being created! I am not sure what Halbrinn’s reaction would have been if, say, humans were amongst the kobolds; I’m hoping it wouldn’t have been the same… Apparently, the enmity between gnomes and kobolds goes back centuries. I clearly have much to learn about gnomish history, as I thought they were a peace-loving race… The second notable occurrence should ensure that Halbrinn thinks twice in future before igniting fires in a forest: Our camp was disrupted by a Tree-man (Miles called him a ‘Treant’) when we stopped the following evening. By the Triad, this creature could have crushed us without a seconds thought! As it was, he told us in simple words that fire starters were not welcome in his woods, allowing us the use of the road, and the road only. Needless to say, for a traveller who lives by the good graces of Silvanus, I went decidedly hungry for a day or so. Additionally, without access to the herbs I was using to belay the odour from Alliandre’s body, there was many a wrinkled nose on the road that day following, too! The third notable occurrence happened that evening (the day after our visitation from the Treant). This appeared in the form of a family of dire boars, and the family’s attacker: a phase spider. The boars were enraged, and attacked us on sight, the phase spider now taking the side of the creatures of the wild. I’m sure Silvanus was punishing us for causing such carnage in this particular stretch of wilderness: I think a trip to somewhere entirely different is long overdue! I did not play a large part in the battle, as I was protecting Alliandre’s baby son, and the mother herself (alright, her body, but Rand was quite determined to see her returned to life, so this was actually an important task). However, I was on hand to patch up wounds afterwards. Just taking one look at the why-me face Miles was pulling was sufficient recompense for all his misdemeanours in Clearwater: He certainly suffered his fill, being tossed like a rag-doll on the male boar’s tusks! The following day we returned to Dagger Falls. Naturally, my first task was to report to the temple for a debriefing with Sir Dundragon. He certainly seemed reasonably pleased with my conduct, giving me an almost neck-dislocating clap on the back when I told him a vampire had drained me. I believe this was actually an expression of camaraderie—truly the man has a perverse sense of heroics! I informed him of the need for a presence in Clearwater, and that it was likely that Rand would be returning, probably as mayor. He agreed to offer a unit of the temple knights as protection to Rand, Braddoc and Alliandre (who had been returned from the dead by the Lathanderian clerics). Additionally, he sent Jory Trueman (2nd Head Cleric here in Dagger Falls) to take up the post of Cleric of Clearwater, so I believe we can safely conclude that at Clearwater: All’s well that ends well. I’m happy for Rand; he, Alliandre and Braddoc make an excellent family. For all Clearwater’s losses, it will certainly gain an excellent–and fiercely protective–new mayor. Praise Ilmater for that! Next, it behove me to discover what had occurred in Dagger Falls in the tenday I had been away. Apparently, a well-known underworld snout had been asking about for a ‘man with foreign features and accent, and who wears grey monk’s robes’. This snout had been caught and questioned, but had little to give up except that his employer ‘hid amongst the shadows like they were his friends’. I’m sure I don’t need to point out the correlations: This sounds somewhat like the shadow-friend we encountered on the road south to Clearwater. A little more investigation may be required, but it’s possible I may have a new secret admirer… No further information had come forth regarding the monks of the Old Order and the related slayings, or more news of Gran’rath the dragon. Apparently, the Dagger Falls watch are making progress, so I will allow them to conduct their business in peace for now. Finally, the information I divulged some months ago now regarding the sighting of the Purple Cloak appears to have proven false. I’m sure she was here to get a look at the dragon, but it appears Gran’rath did not excite her interest, as I’ve heard nothing more concerning her since the end of Uktar. This is a shame, as I would greatly like to visit the righteous anger of Ilmater upon the scum of Toril that are members of the Dragon Cult (and a cleric of Talona to boot!). Oh! For the chance! Ah! A possible way out of the predicament of being too well known has just been presented. Khondar has suggested that the perfect way to top our performance with the Clearwater vampires is a trip to his mountain stronghold. Apparently, the Rudenheim dwarf clan lost this stronghold many years ago to a gang of ogres and giants, who used some kind of dark magic to convert many of the clan members into undead. Clearly, this is a task where I could prove useful, and additionally make myself scarce from Dagger Falls for a while. Ilmater! I don’t like to skulk away, but my semblance has become known to more than just the Dagger Falls underworld, now. Include the powers that have taken an interest in the Clearwater Crusaders, too, and I can see that interesting times are ahead! Through it all, though, you can be sure, your Eminence, that everything I achieve I dedicate to my Church, my King and my country. Ilmater save all three! I’ll sign off for now, your Grace, but I’m sure more will follow soon. Yours,Yvgeny. Ilmater save the King.</blockquote>

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