the weather is hotter and more humid than back home and even more so for zer' and medya but the work continues
last crownsday morning we visited the "adaran mission" which is a cluster of connected houses that serve as both an adaran refugee camp and a community outreach center
i'm glad zer' knew the way because getting through the surrounding area was a challenge – the streets of "overlook" all look so similar but they're so convoluted that i was just plain lost
there weren't many folks on those streets but there was a constant sense of being watched
zer' says the reidrans have always kept close eyes on the mission but they've stepped up their efforts recently so i'm glad he was there to shield our presence
we talked to beren and the good news is that things are looking up – he's safe and sound and happy!
he's taken to sketching people he sees around so he showed us some – and that's where we saw the bad news
there's a small group of folks who frequent a nearby dumpling cart at the same time every day and when they show up everyone else goes quiet
one looks like a higher-up in the brelish military
one looks like a reidran priest according to zer'
the other two wear the same black robes and symbol-painted veils as the ones who were with the reidran ambassador at jorlanna's party and they always follow behind the same way
something is definitely brewing
rakela visited the h&h later in the day so we told her about all this and she seemed ... unsettled
she joined the brelish military because it looked like they were doing their best to do the right things
if the higher-ups are allying with the winterwolves then breland might already be steered toward the not-so-right things
she'll do what she can to investigate so i'll try to avoid too much what-if-this-gets-worse worry-grazing
speaking of troubling alliances
bell thinks zhakil is trustworthy enough to consider as a reliable contact and a friend
in zhakil's defense she's never said anything false or misleading and she's helped us when she didn't have to
but she's still with daask and if they're willing to include someone like cazha bloodwing in their number i'm not sure closer is the preferable direction
we'll give this a chance but both medya and i are nervous about it
relic wanted to follow up on "experiment 6" in d'cannith merrix 1's list – an extra large forged called "hollow" last seen in sharn's sewers
the sewer reclamation project office had a sign redirecting us to the watch
it turns out 38 of their workers have been killed down there in unpleasant and obviously similar ways so they're suspending work for now
we're planning to go in anyhow because we have to find hollow ... who's probably the killer
hooray
and now for the fun news – the solstice is coming up soon!
back home we have a huge "summer sun" celebration and the honored sun princess always shows up for a dramatic sunrise ... but this is the first year i won't be there for it
here they have "highbright" and while it involves fewer sun goddesses it still involves celebration including the hugely popular "race of the 8 winds"
so we'll still have a great time and we get to share it with our new friends!
that night there's a tournament called "metal on metal"
gears planned to take part but while training they worsened an old ankle injury so they chose spark to fill in for them!
she's so excited for it that even though it's not my favorite sport to spectate i'm excited too and i'll definitely be there cheering for her
and wincing every time she takes a hit
but at least unlike gears she'll get her injuries treated before they become chronic
in the meantime i've written up notes on how i can teach the renew spell to others and ploughshare's getting the word out among the forged that all are welcome to come and learn
right now there are only 2 people in the world who actually need renew instead of the simpler heal or repair spells but maybe someone i teach can help figure out how to simplify it before that number rises
anyhow the chirping in my ear says it's morning run time
thanks medya