6 Flamerule 1371

Dear Master Zorthaster,

In my last letter I wrote that we are off on a mission away from our Zhent companions, trying to find the source of danger in the Gap of Skulls. I don't think we've yet found the source, but we have sure found danger.

We pitched a secure camp after the nomad tribe left us in the small hours after the middle of the night. The Zhents had a clever hinge-like device wherein they used metal bars and tubes to fasten corners of the wagons one to another. After doing so, the wagons were all linked strongly together in a defensive circle. The horses were brought inside the circle and rubbed down thoroughly. Khemed heated water in a large barrel using a metal bar and a spell to heat metal. The cold of the night in the desert is deceptive. It saps the heat from any living body very rapidly, especially if one is still covered in the sweat of the daytime heat.

Xan noticed a skull move and alerted me. I detected the fading aura of magic, rapidly dissipating and got the sense that someone was scrying on us. We went to warn Vestele just as the attack came. They came flying out of the inky gloom on bat wings. The monsters were shrieking heads with ropy tentacles hanging below. One Zhent trooper, overcome by the horror of the sight and sound was paralyzed with fear. There must have been 10 or more of the things that we later learned to call varguille. We killed all the abominations in a short, brutal battle but not until after the paralyzed Zhent had been injured.

Vestele relayed our report of scrying to Darvin, but he already seemed to be aware of it. He raised his voice and said that we wished to pass in peace and were willing to pay for the right of passage. There seemed to be no response. After a pause, while Darvin waited for a response, the wizard came back to speak with us. This was unusual, as previously we had only learned our orders through Vestele. We got our first up-close look at his hard eyes, lined face and heard his commanding voice in person. He had the look of a warrior about him. He told us to go on ahead in the morning and destroy whatever is causing this problem. He also told us a little about the varguille. They are small evil outsiders, likely from the plane of Pandemonium.

In the morning we awoke to a commotion centered around Vestele. There were several Zhent troopers gathered around one wild man. It was the one injured in last night's battle. He was raving about losing all his hair in the night. Suddenly he screamed and clutched his head. Bat wings sprouted from his ears, and with a wet, ripping sound, he transformed into a varguille before our eyes. The ghastly thing was immediately cut down and everyone stood shaking in fear and loathing and pity.

We learned that the trooper had complained about a terrible headache after the battle and that he was highly agitated because the varguille that attacked him had put its mouth over his and bit him, nearly suffocating him. This deadly kiss must have poisoned the man or given him some terrible disease.

The Zhents were on high alert, looking for more varguille as we prepared to scout on ahead. We left the caravan at mid morning and made our way cautiously through the huge black spires. With a bit of investigating, we discovered that the spires were a pure form of metal and that they were highly magical. We recalled seeing similar, very strong metal in Coniferea but had not learned its name.

It was difficult to tell time in the gloomy darkness that filled the air, but I estimate that it was near or just past mid day when we came upon what appeared to be a well-guarded crossroads. We discovered piles of skulls heaped up around bone posts. Each pile of skulls with its own post was a construct that could summon in varguille which immediately attacked us. I was very eager to blast the piles to flinders with lightning bolts and fireballs. I suspect my aggression was a way of releasing tension. I have been very uncomfortable traveling with the Zhents and may have needed to blow off some steam.

Unfortunately, the noise caused by our destruction of the bone pile gates and the summoned varguille attracted the attention of other unpleasant inhabitants of the area. First was a pack of skeletons that was easily dispatched by Primula. After that it became more difficult. The worst was a trio of adventurers that included a winged reptile man and a very fast, invisible mage. The wizard cast two fireballs that missed me but killed Kerith. He had already been injured by arrows and raked by the talons of the reptile man. The fireball hit him before he had a chance to even reach for the healing potion in his belt pouch. As Primula and I finished off the wizard with a deadly combination of a fireball and a flamestrike, a quartet of drow arrived.

Oskar and Shane took the lead in cutting these opponents down. I tried magic missiles, but the infamous drow spell resistance proved to be as effective as the legends say. My spells sizzled into nothingness as they would have struck home. I think we killed the drow quietly enough to avoid attracting any more attention for the moment, but the bad guys are as thick as flies in here and I don't know if we are going to get much of a chance to rest for a while. We need to rest though so I can recover spells and so that Primula can pray over Kerith and perhaps raise him from the dead.

I think it is time to be very quiet.

Your student,

Cedar