1 Alturiak, 1372

Dear Master Zorthaster,

We are in search of the hermit Bithra, but I fear that he may no longer be alive. The part of the underdark where he was last seen has been taken over by the Zhentarim Beholder Corps. We are pressing on, regardless, hoping to find him alive after we cleanse these dark passages of the eye tyrant presence.

Before we arrived in the beholder tunnels, we left some of our newfound friends behind in Jungentown. We first settled up with Ffflla, doubling her guide fee in gratitude for her service. Dalis has chosen to stay in Jungentown as well. He once ran a shop in the Bazaar, and was the one to discover the earth node there. He plans on staying and reopening his business. Before we left him, he told us that he knows of an earth node back at Szith Morcane and that he would be happy to help us travel back there through the nodes if we should return through Jungentown. The earth nodes are able to act as connecting points for apportation magic. I would love to study them and their strange dweomer, but we have to press on. I regret leaving Dalis behind, especially now that he is likely to be a much more enjoyable and informative traveling companion. However, it is very satisfying to know that we helped free him from the clutches of the agripa book demon.

Brackus was ready to leave on our search for the hermit as soon as we gathered at the beginning of the day. Before departing I pumped the huge guide for information about the object of our search. We learned that Bithra is a member of the ethrin race. He has a big beak and walks on his hands. He sounds like a fascinating character. When we learned all we could hope to discover from the conversation, we left Jungentown. Today we chose speed over caution and followed Brackus and his huge bat steed in the form of a mist, thanks to Primula's windwalk spell. It was a wild flight, following the great bat as it raced and dodged thorough the complex formations high above the floor of the caverns and passages on the route toward the 'Naga Crawls.'

We reached our destination quickly and with relatively little effort, despite our breakneck speed. Flying above the rough passages and trails is certainly more pleasant than struggling along the stony floors. At the end of our brief trip we had an unpleasant surprise. The Naga Crawls had been taken over by eye tyrants judging from the ugly looking portal that closed off the passage where Bithra was supposed to be found.

Brackus collected his guide fee at that point. He was not hired on to battle beholders. We told him that since it would be easy to find our way back to Jungentown, we would return there if we needed more of his services. With that, and a brief, sketchy plan, we began our assault on the beholder tunnels. Behind the portal was a troop of humans. I was surprised to see that they wore the symbols of the Zhentarim Beholder Corps. It seems that where ever we travel across and even under these realms, we run into the evil tentacles of the Zhentarim.

We destroyed the two phalanxes of human troops lined up to block our passage. Behind them was a chamber filled with livestock. The most interesting part of this chamber was that there appeared to be a sphere of annihilation set in the floor. It looked to be placed there for the disposal of animal waste. Beyond the astonishing idea that such an item would be used to vaporize pig shit, it was surprising to me that the manure would be destroyed rather than being used as a fertilizer. It seemed wasteful, but the underdark as a whole has been surprising in several ways, not the least of which is the degree that it teems with life and diversity.

Beyond the barn, we discovered a room with a trio of eye tyrants that had to be killed. Past them was another chamber with two more beholders and a beholder mage. The mage had cast iron body, blur and mirror image on himself and was therefore a significant challenge. Fortunately, some of the images had been eliminated by the time I hit him with a disintegrate ray. My first spell failed to affect him due to all of his protections, but the second got through and eliminated the threat. In the meanwhile, the others had been working on killing the two companions of the beholder mage. They did so, but not before one had killed Kerith with an eye ray.

We decided to take several minutes to give Primula a chance to resurrect the bard. She was nearing the completion of the powerful spell when the door next to me suddenly opened to reveal yet another pair of beholders and several humans. I found myself on the front line, trying to protect Primula and Kerith so the priestess could complete her casting. I got a bit flustered and battered as I tried to cast spells and got hit by the warriors. Fortunately, I was able to avoid succumbing to the worst effects of the eye rays that came my way.

We killed our attackers and have a moment to regain our breath as Primula completes her spell. With luck, we will not be disturbed again until she is able to restore our friend to life.

Sincerely,

Cedar