Letters to Home

[Bella]

Wilber Gates Sr.

As communicated in my last letter, I met up with your son in a tavern. He had the appearance of strength, but I did see a hint of the lost little boy you described. He now heads to a most dangerous place, but I promise to keep him safe to the best of my ability.

Now I must confess, I saw you outside the tavern when I left with your son. You were obviously hiding in an attempt to not be spotted. I understand you worry for the boy as he does not have the power you possess, but checking up on him like that may not be in his best interest. Let the boy 'sow his oats' so to speak.

We left the town and made it to a place called 'The Camp.' We were attacked before we were even able to dismount. While I was impressed with the way he combined magic and blade, his technique still needs work. I will continue to impress upon him his spells as I know the potential is there for him to grow even stronger.

Events in the Camp were dull after the attack and the group we are traveling with made a point to talk to every single person they could find. If there were goats I fear they would have insisted in talking with them as well...

We finally left after what felt like an eternity and were quickly attacked by some undead screechy things. Being an educator I have put up with the adolescent screeching of young girls for too long so I was unaffected by their high pitched annoyances.

We later encountered a fierce storm. I could tell by the magnitude of it that it was to be deadly. I decided to use it as a teaching moment. I created a wall of ice to help buffet away some of the debris but I wanted to let your son truly see how dangerous and deadly the adventuring lifestyle could be. I pretended to be affected by the storm and made it seem like I was losing my breath. I waited until your son started to show some fear of the situation and then used a simple rope trick to get us all to safety.

We will be leaving in the morning to follow some tracks they had found the previous day. Yet another person the group can talk to… How can they resist… Perhaps a goat is with them as well.

[Bella]

Wilber Gates Sr.

I received your latest correspondence and will do as you instruct, though I find the request troubling.  You ask I keep Wedge away from his home at all cost.  If you are in trouble, you know as a friend I would do all in my power to help.

I will continue to give you updates on your son in hopes it eases your mind somewhat.
We thankfully lost track of the person we were following.  The Ashen Waste is an infernal place.  My bandages constantly get filled with a white powder and irritates my skin.  While out here we were ambushed by many beasts.  The worst were some ghouls type creatures.  They had the ability to paralyze with a touch.  They managed to get most of the group at some point.  It was looking dire but I did my best to hold them off until our allies managed to shake off the effects.  I was about to take matters into my own hands and unleash a powerful blast to finish the ghouls off, but I decided to use this moment as a teaching tool.  What would they learn if I did everything for them.  No.  I decided to act paralyzed myself and let those not under a paralysis effect finish the fight.  After our victory, the group seemed to have more confidence in not only each other, but in themselves as well.  I know I made the right call.

We made it to some crossroads when our guide refused to go further, so we decided to head back into the Ashen Waste to a place our guide knew about.  I am not keen on taking your son to the temple yet as I do not think him ready.  Staying our here and training will do him some good.

Once we got to the ruins our guide mentioned, we quickly found the door was tightly shut.  I was able to easily remove one of the locks with a simple knock spell but was unable to get the other.  In the end, I made a calculated decision to dimension door myself, our rogue, and a monk who is traveling with us into the building.  Your son was not happy I left him outside, but I felt the monk would be better apt at keeping anything at bay until the rogue opened the door. 

We were attacked by many beasts that wore fire, but my ice spells ate through them.  Like I thought, the monk kept anything from getting to us, but the dolt just sat there.  He would not advance the line so that others could enter and help.   I will have to go over tactics with him tonight.  For now, I believe we shall rest before going back in to the ruined building. 

Be safe with whatever is befalling you my friend.

Bikto Fries