Well, that's what I FELT when I wiped out an entire scouting party of six chorrim on my own. It started when Ei-Parron asked me to scout to figure where the Chorrim scouting party was, and their number, so we could better prepare our attack, or at least figure our strategy. As I flew, no Chorrim was in sight. I arrived at the outpost, and watched for awhile, but nothing extraordinary happened, until a party of six left and went the opposite direction of our encampment. My curiousity got the best of me, and I did feel like this was important, so I followed them for almost an hour. As I watched, I couldn't help but notice that some well laid stones prepared to blow would incur some significant injury. My well laid plan worked so well that I felt like I should go ahead try it again, farther down the trail. By this a few were dead, and had this urge to finish it with a some different types of magical blasts. I, unfortunately, was discovered twice by arrows. I no longer underestimate Chorrim scouts since the last arrow that pierced my lung found me 130 feet away behind a scrub and prone. I have no idea how he saw me, especially since I moved to hiding after my last attack, but the important note is that he is now dead. I managed to crawl away and heal myself before I followed him back towards the outpost (he was beating a hasty retreat) and finished him with a stab of mindfire. Given my injuries, I had a higher motivation than usual to strip all of them of any wealth they may have. I did manage to find 50 gold pieces, over a 100 silver pieces, and 50 copper pieces, as well as an interesting scroll that I couldn't read. I decided to return the scroll to Ei-Parron.

Ei-Parron was most grateful for the retrival of the scroll, as it was a request for reinforcements from the Chorrim headquarters. That would have been extremely bad if they would have gotten through. At least risking my life accomplished something more than just my ego and some coin :)

That night I attacked them...just before dawn actually. I managed to kill two Chorrim in their sleep, and injured six more. While watching the mayhem, however, I did get a good look at the leader. He's my next target when and if I get the chance. The day crawled by slowly, and the emcampment had built a five foot wall to barr an onslought by the Chorrim if they so chose. Hopefully, if the Chorrim do choose to attack, we'll be able to hold them off long enough to whittle their numbers down.

I thought the cyclops was bad. Did I mention the gigantic cyclops? Morgan and my hands were full just keeping our party alive, but I can happily claim the final blow that finished the monster. Granted that blow was from a nice safe distance, but when you can command stone, why endanger yourself? The big treasure off that hunk of flesh was a HUGE blue diamond...I was sincerely drooling, given that it was about my size, but Ro only appraised it around 5000 gp. For a diamond of THAT size? I'm thinking it has some serious flaws. I'll stick to the smaller more quality gems, although it's not like I can focus on very large gems being a fey anyway. I scouted around in case more danger was headed our way, only to find the cave. I cast Darkvision, and with Ro and Cathar (as a hawk), entered the cave, hoping for more treasure. I had hoped initially to get all the cyclops treasure to myself, but after Ro's conversation with Ei-Parron, the cave information came out, so I volunteered to the dangerous mission of scouting :) Only finds were some coins and a few moldy books that Ro started salivating over. It was a good spot to use as a resting spot for the whole Ei-Parron group though, so we rested there for a few days. I practiced my spells and managed to improve some of my more intrinsic abilities.

We thought the cyclops was bad, however, we discovered that it would only get worse after a certain Chorrim encounter as we entered the mountains. I did manage to surprise the Chorrim quite nicely with two lobbed explosive stones into their group before they knew we were there. I then lured them into the path for our party to attack. I used myself as a lure instead of using ghost sound. Stupid stupid stupid. I rarely use that ability, so I forget that I have it. I did manage to save Varrell's life again, which gave me a nice feeling. Besides gathering gems, I think that keeping the good people alive makes me feel very valuable. Morgan's our true giver of life, but I make sure that people will live to see his assistance.

After almost defeating the Chorrim, I saw more coming, so Morgan threw up a barrier of ice to prevent them from attacking, as we retreated back to Ei-Parron's group. We spoke to her about the pending danger, and I volunteered to do some serious scouting to find out if we were talking about a lot of Chorrim, or just a small band. Cathar joined me for awhile, but had to turn back soon as his hawk form does not last too long. I did find a Chorrim outpost that I knew would pend a lot of danger for us. I counted at least 10 Chorrim on the wall, and at least 60 others in various areas of the outpost. They had wooden structures and caves for food and belongings, and given the tracks, it was pretty clear to be just an outpost. I tried to memorize all of the pertinent information and flew post haste back to Ei-Parron to give my report.

The current discussion is how to handle the situation, since we have to pass the outpost, and it's unlikely the Chorrim will be just satisfied with a toll, even though I wouldn't pay a toll in the first place. I had lots of ideas, but I won't bother writing them all down until a decision's going to be made. I doubt all the different thoughts could fit on the paper that I brought. I need to save it for my gem inventory anyway.

My earlier comments about no gems? False. Ever so wonderfully false. Our latest unusual and fantastic creature to fight were walking emeralds. I gaped in wonder and excitement as my comrades behind and below me marched forward to fight these amazing beasts. I wasn't sure if I wanted them tamed, destroyed, or bred. The problem with options #1 and #2 is that they utterly destroyed the scouting party that had replaced our watch, the Steady Steins. E-Parin sent us and the Red Halves to track the killers and destroy them. Ro-Batoul had spotted the tracks most handily, so our party was in the lead. They were tough to take down, but so well worth it. Emeralds showered everywhere! Ro-Batoul estimated the overall value to be around 5000 gold pieces. My wings shook with anticipation. We split the emeralds with the Red Halves, giving us approximately 2500 gold pieces...which calculates out to a little over 400 gold pieces. What a beautiful day!

Previously we had some difficulties with some sort of incorporal undead creature. He was very difficult to combat. I was deeply frustrated as I had take the time expend a spell to improve my attack, turn invisible and move into place, and then create a magical earthen hammer that would damage it only to miss more than hitting it. It was very difficult to hit, even with the extra focus I poured into the combat. BUT, the gems makes me not feel so badly. I fully plan on making the bag of gems my bed, perhaps using feedsacks as a cushion. I consider it my duty to be protectorate of the collected gems for the party's sake.

I only hope that the gems and valuables will be rampant in the Bitter Peaks. Rampant, in this setting, would involve even a small amount of jewels. I have heard of some sprytes that search the Bitter Peaks and the Crystal Fields; I hope to perhaps bump into them during our tenure in the Peaks. It can be quite advantageous to have a lot of flying searchers. The only valuable item so far recovered started with a glint on the side of the road I caught while scouting ahead of the party a little. Flying has a few advantages, including spotting. It turned out to be a silverish disc. While I was disappointed with the lack of gems, I was most anxious for Ro-Batoul to identify it. I am discovering that Ro-Batoul is very good with this sort of thing; he will be a great resource on this trip. These are his findings so far:

It's 300 years old.
Abzeth is the last person to touch it.
Abzeth is a Verrick.
It was made by Kelquare, who was also Verrick.
It provides food 3 times a day for four people.
It's worth a pretty agate at least ... Hopefully enough to split among the party and still get me an agate. We'll see. The funny part is that he did all the loresight to find out this information, then he cleaned it off, where it read in very clear Verrick, Made by Kelquare. I guess we should wash what we study first.

We have had several small skirmishes with random odd creatures, including dire wolverines, gargoyle-like creatures, and some seriously nasty rock troll types that have symbiotic relationships with insect swarms. I found these particular wing-trembling as any self preserving spryte is going to avoid combat with flying opponents. Another advantage of flying happens to include staying out of reach of land-bound creatures. The rock troll-like creature ripped open his own chest to let loose the swarm, so we kept our focus on destroying the larger creatures. Fortunately for us, the swarm couldn't seem to survive without the symbiotic creature for too long. Varrell ran to camp and back quickly to inform them of the new creature, and there was later a huge meeting to inform everybody of the creature and what little was known.

Otherwise, it's been a quiet journey.

It felt good to be in the open again; where danger and loot loomed. It was difficult to ignore the 100 or so travelling companions that were also sent as guards, as well as three other parties such as ourselves, but I imagine we'll lose them soon enough in the mountains as we set off in our separate directions. The Lady requested a designated leader to represent each party and meet with her each day. Since Ro-Batoul memorizes entire books for giggles, it seemed wise to send somebody that could remember each meeting from the first to the last word for word. She apparantly requested that each party take turns taking point farther ahead of the caravan, and this was easily scheduled.

It has been a few days. So far we have taken care of some large wolverines and trolls, and even had our camp invaded by stupid disease ridden rats. We burned the rats after their demise, but the stench was so strong that I cast a spell that eliminated the scent, for at least long enough to get through the worst of it without passing out. The trolls were certainly the most difficult we have faced so far on the trip, but we have our own diverse tricks in order to survive quite nicely.

Cathar did some serious shopping for some dependable healing for when Morgan and I get too tired or too distracted with combat to heal enough. It is a wise thought, as anything can happen on the open road. He did find a powerful statue that heals wounds twice a day for around 4500 gold pieces. The party worked together financially so we could purchase and utilise this investment during our time together. I am a little concerned about rights of ownership in case our party disbands, but I should not always think of the financial end, as our party is a honest and good one. I did pitch in 500 gold pieces. I was thinking about buying another jewel with that gold since I can't carry that much, but this has tremendous and on-going value. My share of contribution was low in comparison, but I do have my future business to think about.

I was flitting about town window shopping when Varrel found me and told me that some suspicious scaly characters went into the Throne Room, but the guards wouldn't tell him who they were or their business. I decided it was worth a peak, so I went invisible and through a window for a front row seat of a private royal session. The two scaly creatures were mostly covered, so I could not get a good feel for who and what they were, but they held a threatening conversation with the Lady Protectoress. The basic points included a broken treaty and the need for the Giants to get out of their land. Clearly these fellows felt that the Land of the Diamond Throne belonged to their race, whoever they were. Based on their demeanor, however, I think I prefer the Giants holding the rights. The day went on and I was so distracted during dinner with tales of my shopping that I nearly forgot to mention the new threat. Varrel fortunately filled in the details of which I had shared with him earlier though. Regardless, the next morning's departure meeting included the Lady Protectoress, and a warning to be careful of possible encounters with creatures similar to the Mojh, but of a different type. She called them Dracha, and that they were of a more warrior nature, looking down on their Mojh relatives. They apparantly, according to the Lady, were starting claims of the Diamond Throne and shared how they viewed the longstanding treaty. I felt a little smug that I already was in possession of most of this information. We were then sent off to begin our current task at hand...

It was the fifth day since we set out from the Keep and when we went to the appointed meeting at dawn. There were many adventurer's, including the Red Halves in attendance. I studied the Lady and her two companions closely as everybody gathered. E-Parin was a warrior giant and sitting on Lady Serane's left. On the Lady's right hand was De Baldrat, who also was a giant. He was introduced as a researcher, and I sensed his akashic abilities were far greater than that of our own Ro-Batoul's. The Lady herself seemed quite the champion, and I sensed great magical knowledge in her, and also of great experience. I was dozing in and out of the rather boring discussion of the possibilities that The Diamond Throne's demise was at hand, but did gather that the akashics around the area have been plagued with a similar dream that involves some sort of lost city in the Bitter Peaks. We were charged to go there, set up base, and seek out magical and items of knowledge for the researchers in order to get to the root of the dream business, which seems to have everybody freaked out. The items that the researchers do not feel pose a danger to the Diamond Throne are for the takings of the finder. We were also offered a stipend of 100 gold a week, so this is no small undertaking. There was more information, but my brain stopped listening as I dreamed of all the jewels and gems found in the Bitter Peaks.

After going straight to meeting place and being told to come back in the morning (Red Halves have not reported in yet as they seem short on mounts), we set out to reserve a room at the Dancing Sword. Tal and I headed off to Arvil's to hopefully take care of some business that could not be handled at the Keep. Tal completed his haggling with Arvil, then I presented my token from his brother and asked if he had an natural armour that would work well for my size. He did have such a piece that he couldn't understand why he bought in the first place, and seemed glad to be rid of it for 1900 gp. That seemed a most reasonable discount, so I gave him two of my precious gems; one valued at 1400gp that I had obtained long ago, and a black pearl valued at 500gp that I received as loot from the Keep victory. I was most sad to give up my jewels, but I really need to ensure I'll be safe on my future adventures. My next purchase was a merchant's scale to help my appraisal abilities, and finally an accounting book to keep track of my gems and coinage. Unfortunately, the book is as big as I am, as I must sit in the book to even write clearly, so I am hoping Tal will carry it for me. I can't decide if he's a friend or just foolish for giving me that moss agate a few months ago, but it has given him a certain charm in my opinion.

We had a relatively peaceful trip to Da-Shamond. The Floating Forest is always full of dangerous beasts and problems, but we were fortunate. The first night we were attacked by trolls, but they were not of consequence. Morgan did feel something wrong with the "green" that she is so connected to, so she went to investigate on her own (a bit foolish in my opinion, but I can see why since it was at night and we should have at least one guard at the camp). She told us the next morning that she witnessed a troll preparation for ritual combat. I was most anxious to go see the results, mostly in the sense of what they left behind in the form of possessions, but apparantly troll rituals do leave some alive, so it probably would be more trouble than it was worth, so we moved on.

Cathar's pet bird made us aware of something off the path on day three, so Cathar and I went to investigate. We found several Rhodin bodies. I do believe Cathar was much remiss that he missed out on a glorious battle. I searched very carefully, and among the pittance of four copper and four platinum pieces, I found a small spryte size ring! This was most excited for me, and I was glad to have taken the time for a thorough search. I brought it back to camp and Ro-Batoul proved his good use with his very akashic ways. He determined that it was 110 years old, and that Ceali Crownleaf, a loresong faen, had created the item. Unfortunately, it doesn't have magical qualities, but spryte rings with any sort of history are hard to find, so I am grateful.

The following (and last) day of our journey to Da-Shamond caught us up with a human company, of which we thanked for killing the Rhoadin we found. Ro-Batoul called to Robert by name (more Akashic mischief), which confused everybody mightily. As I studied them carefully, they appeared to be strong warriors with similar experience and history as us. They also were called to Da-Shamond by similar means, so it's quite possible we will see them again some time. They were referred to as the Red Halves. Bloody hell. I should have detected magic in case we do run into them again on more negative terms.

My efforts with the party for reclaiming the Keep was one of the best investments I've made. I obtained three beautiful and valuable jewels, as well as almost 700 gold pieces. The jewels that are now added to my already fine collection include an emerald (1000 gp), diamond (200 gp), and black pearl (500 gp). As much as it pains me to part with these lovely items, I fear I must to improve my amour protection without losing spell ability. I've looked for natural armour here in the Keep now that it's becoming more established, but spryte sized items aren't exactly rampant. I was fortunate, however, to receive a reference for finding such an item in Da-Shamond, if I should find myself there sometime.

Meanwhile, I found some small trinket jewels during the refurbishment of the Keep that I pocketed. I've been also looking for a book on magical rituals to better assist me during adventuring. I was quite fortunate to locate a giant that noted my staring at the book and offered to sell it. He drove a hard bargain, but seemed happy with the jewels I found along with some gold pieces. I hope to also help with ritual preparation for Tal-Cornis and Ro-Batoul if they so wish to use them since the book covers general and giant rituals. (Ro-Batoul is Ro-Terras' brother who has decided to adventure further with us in Ro-Terras' stead. Ro-Terras is staying on at the Keep...I shall miss him.)

We received a letter requesting our party's presence for some promising adventuring if we travelled to Da-Shamond. I shall look forward to visiting Da-Shamond again, and hopefully find some natural armour!