Frysday, Harvest 9th, 802

Blackhawk and I set off together, and after I mentioned Stephen's lack of trust in him since the dragon incident, Blackhawk was quiet for some time. He lashed out at me for suggesting that his impulsive behaviour could be a liability to the company, but we seem to have ironed things out. Carlotta's appearance was a surprise to us both, but he definitely got the worst part of that meeting. When she looked at him and said "Brimbar, what have you done to me?" I thought he might faint. He has been much chagrined since then, and I hope he manages to shake off the guilt he must be feeling.

This place, though drought-stricken, has many beautiful trees, some old and some mere saplings that suggest a fire here in the not too distant past. In the deep silence, our soft footfalls sounded much louder, and I could hear the tinkling of a creek or rivulet nearby. We hiked further and came upon a granite slope where the leaves had been washed away with a small creek trickling down. We continued to walk and before us was a statue, somewhat akin to the one at the monument we found yesterday, but made of some semiprecious, caramel coloured stone, Blackhawk said it was jasper. It was an Elf, I think, armoured and holding a spear and a shield. The device on the shield was a longbow with a war hammer across it. The ornamentation looks quite elvish, with a leafy border. The stone must be durable, for the carving was obviously old, but hardly worn at all. Nearby, Blackhawk found a dark opening in the earth, perhaps natural, but it seemed to have been evened out a bit. There was cool air coming out and we decided to investigate. He led the way and soon we found ourselves in a chamber with debris and boulders at the far end. Upon investigating, we found a large fissure, the source of the cold air, worn smooth as if by the passage of many creatures over many years. We had the feeling that we might meet something unpleasant down there, so we explored a bit further, finding a small waterfall before we made our way back toward the halfling encampment. We saw some huge trees that had fallen in the path, and were just discussing whether we should go around or try to climb over when we were attacked by a large bear. We fought back enough to get away and were heading for the encampment with a purpose when DeVal, followed by Raven in her mountain lion wildshape, came up and I had the distinct feeling that we were being herded back to camp. Once back, the strange halfling caught Raven's eye (he ran) and she pounced on him. To his credit, he tumbled very well and avoided injury. He even stayed conscious when Raven licked his face... She was sorry to frighten him and brought a deer carcass to try to appease him, but he was just appalled and clung to Stephen. Blackhawk and Stephen tried to ascertain his sparring ability with the quarterstaff, but he was uninterested, and instead curled up in Raven's lap and went to sleep. She was concerned to find him stiff when she tried to move him, as though he were made of stone...

Reapsday, Harvest 10th, 802

Raven had gone off chasing DeVal somewhere, so we decided to look around camp to see if anything else was amiss. The strange halfling was still there and yawned and stretched in a most comfortable way. Blackhawk found some fresh human sized tracks heading west. We were all becoming quite concerned about this land, wondering what thing might decide that the halflings didn't belong here and take care of the matter. We began to plan a strategy for the dragons removal. We decided that the best plan of action was to memorize the defensive spells from yesterday again. We knew full well that the dragons could be waiting for us outside, but we never counted on what we found. But I get ahead of myself. Elensul decided to go first, taking a running start so that he could tumble if need be. Stephen followed and then I. I stepped through the crossroads, prepared for a burst of flames, but instead found myself under fourty feet of water! A hundred or so yards away, one of the red dragons was waiting on the beach, stalking angrily to and fro. Blackhawk, heavily armoured, was unable to make it to the surface until Raven came through, assessed the situation and became a killer whale, scooping all of us onto her back. The halfling and his staff splashed to the surface next, and he joined us on the whale, who swam back and forth, occasionally slapping her flipper onto the surface of the water three times. I believe it was some kind of signal, but we never figured out what she meant and were dowsed a few times. About thirty yards from the shore, Elensul took Stephen and took an "abundant step" to behind the startled dragon. Stephen handed a wet and angry DeVal to me. My old friend Jeck, half drowned himself, sulked damply on my shoulder. Elensul began to pummel the dragon with a fury. Stephen used his rapier of piercing to deal it some more damage. I was now on the beach and the dragon, bleeding profusely, turned it's attention to me. Elensul took advantage of the opportunity and began again to pummel the beast. Raven raised her arms high and cast a quenching spell and the dragon died, in a great billow of steam.

Stephen cast his ghost noise, hoping to call the other dragon to us while our defenses were still strong, but it had apparently become wily with the deaths of it's siblings, and would not show itself.

Respectfully submitted by Maxfield Jaden Fox