The Minds of Children

Today did not go well.
 
I woke up this morning excited for the next chapter of my life but it's still just all the same. This new job was supposed to be something different, something more interesting... meaningful. But all I got out of it was despair. I'm getting ahead of myself though. I must maintain my record as objectively as I can despite my mental state.
 
It seems that Miss Flow-Kit is even less trusting than I first thought. Was quite the surprise when Sparky and Clank first showed up. That entrance was incredibly fool hardy and I'm surprised that no one was seriously hurt from that encounter. Casting spells and attacking, even soft attacks as they were, is a good way to get a sword in the back. Maybe he's just crazy, but I seriously hope that this trend doesn't continue. I do not want to meet my fate as a result of some ill planned actions such as attacking a fully armed adventuring party. I do have to concede regarding his skill though. Combining Sparky, a metallic automaton, and heat metal as an offense tactic is brilliant. I wonder if I would have thought of such a thing if I had pursued a different art? Oh well, no need to waste thought towards that possibility. It was certainly handed for our encounters this evening though.
 
Defeating the troglodytes and cyclops was nothing. These creatures demonstrated that they would continue trapping and/or hunting people and needed to be put down. Our team was able to respond rapidly to the threat and put them down before we suffered to much damage. Honestly after this first encounter I thought that would be it. To me it seemed as if we defeated the grunts which triggered the 'leader' to come face us itself. All very typical of low intelligence monsters. How wrong I was...
 
Moving through the cave did improve my overall attitude toward our team. Despite the strong personalities in this group we were able to combine our skills and clear each corner as it presented itself. Teasdale did seem quite pleased with themselves after being given a ride on that mechanical dog. I will have to have a word with them about their pride if they continues with that mindset. Nothing good can come from that mentality, and even poses some danger when faced with such a distance to the homeland. Regardless I may speak with Clank to discuss some further strategies between Teasdale and Sparky.
 
I find myself struggling to continue writing at this point. I do not take pleasure in recounting these final details but I do find it necessary to face some sort of closure. Maybe if I keep telling myself that it will finally become true. One can hope. Seeing the bodies of those children through the keen eyes of Teasdale was too much. Even though I know I'm not supposed to be ashamed from an action such as screaming the way I did I still can't help but feel slightly ashamed of the way I reacted. I've thought that with some of the things I've seen that I would be more desensitized to this scene but I guess not. Maybe if we had been a little quicker at at reaching the downs we could have made a difference. Maybe if we had found more evidence or clues we could have made more haste. Maybe there was nothing that we could have ever done and this is what we were always destined to find...
 
The locked door could have been handled a little more gracefully. Clank's and Thrazmoc's solution to the riddle was quite efficient did leave a fairly annoying slow down in our path. I suppose I am biased with the clarity of hind sight so I shouldn't be too critical. It did get us into the final room with that thing.
 
And I suppose that's really all I can really call it. I was able to piece together the nature of that creature from the others descriptions but I'm furious that I was knocked unconscious before I could even make a move. I still have a splitting headache as I write this. I'm hoping that my head will clear by the morning. A clear head won't be enough to respond to the threat of this mindflayer though. I will need to search this town for some supplies, but more importantly gather some intelligence on the history of their race. I'm extremely surprised that one could have fed on so many minds before its presence was found in such a large city. I need to prepare completely so that the next time I face one won't end with me face first in the ground. Maybe next time I will actually be able to save those that I'm tasked with rescuing. I don't like that this is becoming a pattern...
 
Those poor children. I dread to know what will become of them. The actions of this mind flayer will not be forgiven. I truly hope that this current team can go the distance as we will surly face unfathomable danger if this first mission is any indicator. I'm sure tomorrow will bring our next mission but until then I will try to steal a few hours of sleep if I'm able.