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It has been several years since I first uncovered Kree Pela' Zai's journal in a back room of the Library of Throal. For seventy years, it had been kept by a colleague of mine, Allegra Zai' Shea, also the late ancestress of Kree.

As far back as I can put together, Kree left her kaer early in 1505 TH to begin her adventuring. Early on, she met Grexloric of House Tyreseuss, who she would travel with many times in the course of her life. There are many versions of the story of their first meeting. Most often told is that Kree was being plagued by a troop of Trolls that included Timeor (later refered to as Troll) and his brother Uklah. They were harassing her by calling her 'Kindling' and threatening to start a fire with her when Grexloric came along to defend her honor. Thus was the beginning of their fast friendship. How they came to travel with Timeor is still a puzzle.

Though she never kept a true journal, one may piece together her story and the story of Akarem's Mistbane through her letters to her family and friends. Such is the task I have undertaken.

-- Merth, Scholar, Librarian, 1579 TH

 

Hello again :) Well, it looks like we'll finally be on our way. Grex has finished (I hope) going back to his brother with last minute reminders on how to do his share of running the Grexloric Clan. What *that* entails (hee hee), I'll never know. But while all the others were collecting mountains of things to take with them (you should see how much stuff they think they need!), T'ron, the town elder, asked me to transport a message for him to the next town over. Well, I figured it was *something* to do while the others got themselves ready...

So, anyway, there I was in Deops. An' I figured that since I was there I might as well take a look around. But it was dark and most people were getting ready to sleep(boring), so I went for a night fly back to the others instead. (Don't worry, Mama, I can take care of myself! sigh)

Well, a little ways out I saw a fire and decided to see who it was. And it was a good thing that I stopped to look before I flew right in (Grex is always giving me lectures about my 'enthusiasm') because as it turns out, they were Therans! Honest, Mama, real live Therans. An' no, they don't have two heads like cousin Pkinf said. They looked just like any of the other name-giver races. These were an ol' man an' a boy an' I think the boy was a slave `cause the man kept beatin' at `im an' yellin' an' stuff.

Anyways, they worked mosta the night through, taking what I later found out to be Theran badges off all their stuff an' putting Throalic ones on instead. An' I saw that they had a horse. It was real sad looking - like it was beat up with a whip or somethin'. An' I felt bad for it an' thought about how much better I would be at takin' care of it an' that I could give it to Grex as a present. So, I - well, I took it. Now, don't be mad Mama. They probably woulda killed the poor thing an' now they can't.

So, anyway, I flew back to the town an' told the guards all about them. You'd have thought that they had never seen a windling before, the way they stared at me and they kept telling me to slow down, `cause they couldn't understand me, I swear, I never saw such dumb guards! I was tryin' to tell them that the Therans were mixed in with a bunch of Ork mercs an' they were going to attack the town. The Therans would be coming tomorrow to spread rumors about a Troll Sky raiding party that was attackin' the region. An' then as the town was preparing for an aerial attack, the mercs would attack from the hills. When everyone was dead or captured by the Therans to use as slaves, they would leave behind Troll moot stones and clan symbols to implicate the Trolls. But we got that all straightened out in the morning. T'ron even asked us to take a letter to King Varulus right now to explain things to him.

Oh! But I haven't told you about my friends...Let's see, there's Grex, the T'skrang Swordmaster (my hero); an' Troll, the Skyraider, and an Obsidiman (yes, they are as big as they say and no, they're not entirely made of rock) named Georrard. He has been very nice to me. He's a nethermancer - all quiet and kinda peaceful. He called me sister and told me funny stories about a group of Windlings near his birth rock. As far as I can tell we aren't related to them. But then a veiled windling came in an' he whispered in Georrard's ear an' then Georrard said, 'good-bye' and left! As theWindling turned his veil fluttered an' I caught a glimpse of his face. It was Raven! Do you 'member him? He's Pfieif's old roommate. First thing he asked me was what relation that made us. I told him none, o' course, `cause we aren't even though Pfeif's my third cousin an' all. An' then he tackled me, Mama! Head over wings we went tumbling across the bar! He's been fun and I like him a lot, but I sure hope he looses that veil soon, it's spooky.

Let's see, there's also a dwarf Weaponsmith named Hazad. Boy, is he ornery! He doesn't pick on me as much as Troll does, but mostly that's `cause he's always muttering about elves.

And (oh!), I have to tell you about T'stray! Wow! I never knew T'skrang women were so - well - flirting isn't quite the word I was looking for, but there really is no one word to describe her. She was puttin' her tail all over Grex! An' he was fallin' for it too! I've never seen him so unsettled. I hate to admit it, but I was a little jealous until he noticed how well Savior (that's the name he gave the horse I got for him) was doing. He thanked and thanked me for him. (grin)

And lastly we met Lord Nebal. He's a dwarf and an Elementalist to boot. An' you can't just call him Nebal, either. I tried and he corrected me right away. And I haven't made that mistake since! After all, I remember what happened to Uncle Hepple when *he* got an Elementalist mad! He's not as ornery as Hazad though. Maybe in time he'll loosen up.

So, anyway, I barely got any sleep last night. An' in the morning the Therans arrived and the people were so mad they stoned them to death. I could scarcely believe it. The townspeople had refused to ask Grex and the others for any help, 'cause they think all Adepts are bad. They only asked me to help `cause I can fly.

Well, everyone wanted to make tracks as soon as they saw the stoning - but T'ron stopped us and asked us to carry that letter to Throal that I told you about. So, we did - we're carrying it now... And now that we're on the road and things have gotten ordinary again, I can sleep. I'll just make myself comfortable on Grex's shoulder.

Wind's Blessing to you All,

Kree

Transcribed and translated from the original windling by Merth of the Library of Throal, 1578 TH

Dear Mama and Papa,

Greetings! It's only been a few days since I wrote you last, but being an Adept out in the world so many things happen so fast! So, let me catch you up on what's been happening...

Not too far from Deops, is a town called Tureen. We arrived around noon to a hero's welcome. None of us quite knew what was going on, so following Grex's lead, we waved to the cheering crowd as they gathered on both sides of the street. Grex was in his element, the crowd loved him!

Amidst all the pomp and circumstance, the town elder gave a speech welcoming us to the town. We listened and waited, hoped for a clue as to what was going on. As far as we could put together, he thought that we were the Adepts he had hired. For what, we still didn't know. We were, of course, no such thing and Grex set him straight once we could talk to him in private. The elder was very distraught because the other group was two weeks late. They probably weren't going to come at all. Troll called a group meeting and we huddled just out of hearing range of the man. We decide to offer to go in their place.

We found out that the others were hired to find out what was keeping travelers from coming from the west and why when people go out to the west they never come back. Also, if possible, they were supposed to get rid of the problem. An' now it's our job. We all decided that it must be a Beastie that was doing it - an' an awfully big one at that.

Before we set out, we arranged for our letter to Throal to go on without us. You know, the one about the Trolls and the Therans from Deops. It does after all haf' to get there as quickly as possible, but T'ron never said we had to take it ourselves. (grin)

The next morning, one of the town kids led us toward the west and the direction that they thought the Beast was living and hunting in. The crowd cheered us on as we made our way through the streets. We were flattered, naturally, but after the way we were scared out of Deops, well, I'll just say it was awfully nice.

A short distance as the Windlings fly, but a long distance for those who always walk, we found two giant spider like things like no wild animal I've ever seen. We fought them; Raven and I from the air, Grex, Troll and Hazad on the ground and T'stray and Nebal casting spells. Grex fell (but he was ok). So did Troll - twice, but they both got up to fight even more determinedly. The Jehuthra, as we were later told was what it is called, fought with icy magical claws similar to my own.

After what seemed forever, we defeated it. All of us were worn to the bone. The Troll was down and it didn't look like we would be able to revive him anytime soon. We searched the area to see if we could find any evidence of more of them or where they came from. Raven searched the cave there and found a beautiful silver amulet with a star burst pattern and crimson stain across it. Why those spider-things had it I don't know. Someone (I don't remember exactly who) suggested that we cut the thorax plates off the monsters. There's a very pretty starburst pattern on them - almost spider web-like.

We went back to Tureen to tell the people about the Jehuthra. That's where we found out they're really constructs (that means that they're made by Horrors). I hope we don't meet any of those again any time soon, but I think I'm the only one who feels that way. Raven is all excited about meeting more of 'em. Grex thinks it's his 'honor and duty' to rid Barsaive of their threat. Troll keeps talking about it like it's a game to play. Men! You'd think that just for a second they'd realize that where there are constructs there generally are Horrors. I guess here's where you'd remind me, Mama, that men often strut like peacocks before the storm hits. Stupid bravado!

If possible, our reception back in Tureen was even more excited than our leave-taking. They even held a feast in our honor! Nobody's ever done that before. Grex says that the more famous we get the more that'll happen. I hope so, it's awful nice.

Well, we've decided that we're going to go to Haven. That's the town in the middle of the ruins in Parlainth. The elder says that a lot of adventurers go there. And we could probably find a wizard or sage there who could tell us about the necklace that we found. He recommended someone named Heirmon. I'll tell you about that in my next letter...

Wind's Freedom! Love you All,

Kree

Transcribed and translated from the original windling by Merth of the Library of Throal, 1578 TH