Journal Entry #8 -

Osgood,

I have much to tell you, and I have a new assignment for you.  The events since my last entry have been interesting to say the least.  What follows is a summary:

While dining in a tap room in Suncrest, a group of individuals decided that they needed to increase their reputation by shedding our blood.  And they would have too, had it not been for the help of a random citizen named Albert J. Behrman.  He is one of the most effective fighters I have seen.  I'm really glad he was on our side.

After the scrum that took place we were able to pad our pockets a bit, and found a few items that were enchanted.  Not the strongest enchantments I have seen, but other members of the party found them desirable.

After a discussion with Albert, we discovered he knew a shortcut to Waymeet that would keep us away from the prying eyes of Marquis Daedalus, however this shortcut was rumored to be haunted.  The group decided it was worth the risk, and we left a few days later.

The first part of the trip was uneventful, quiet, and pleasant.  We encountered a few creatures to whom death had been no respite, but Frumious quickly dispatched them with the aid of Omnos.

(As a side note, I am thinking of exploring the realm of divine magic.  To that end, keep your eyes open for books dealing with the subject.  I will send back money as soon as I can.)


The most eventful part of the journey occurred on the second day.  We dipped down into a valley with a huge, seemingly dead, tree occupying most of the area by the road.  It was black, and twisted, and covered in moss.  Bajol attempted to discern the degree of evil we were dealing with and it was strong enough to stun him for a short while.  Needless to say I was immediately fascinated and wanted to do a thorough investigation.  As we got closer the moss turned out to be very old rope, and it is not a far leap of logic to assume that this was an old hanging tree.  I could not discern whether or not it was still in use because the rest of the group had other designs on said tree, and the consensus was to move along and return to rid the valley of the threat at another time.  I did take the time to sketch the tree, and am including it in this entry.  Any research you can perform on this tree, or legends that are similar would be most helpful.




Once we were a few hundred feet past the tree, Fyn lit up a crossbow bolt and fired it into the trunk of the tree, at which point a dark sap like substance exuded from the tree and extinguished the flame.  We quickly moved out of the valley, and rode through a good portion of the night before camping.  That night there was the report of a red cap sighting, but nothing came into the camp.  What did happen is far more interesting.

In the late hours of the night, shortly before sunrise, Fyn awoke with a scream.  Upon entering his tent we found a burnt crossbow bolt embedded in his chest.  He is fine, and the wound was minor, but I am relieved that we did not stage a full assault on the tree.  Who knows what condition we would be in.  Around lunchtime today we arrived in Waymeet, which is little more that a fortified trading post.  Hopefully there might be some texts of interest for sale here, and I will send them back immediately.  We have secured a room and are off to meet a contact that Bajol found named Marcus.  I will fill you in on the details of that meeting in my next entry.

I hope you are well, and I trust your studies are coming along.  Upon my return, I look forward to seeing what progress you have made.  I read your message about increased trade in town.  I have no just cause, but that makes me very suspicious.  Why now?  And I know this will sound terribly self important, but does it have anything to do with the 5 of us leaving?  Keep your eyes open and your head low.  If you think you can cast them I can send you instructions for an alarm spell that will keep our tower safe, and you could use it on our family homes.  Please give my regards to my Mom, Dad, and Dorian.  It is hard to believe that he is the same age I was when I left Halvenspring for the first time.  I digress.  If you  have any news of Emilyn, I would love an update in your next correspondence. 

Until my next entry, be well, and may Omnos guide and protect us all.

Grigor