We are being watched. We have dreamed the dream again, and I am sure it is not coincidence. Someone is testing us, watching our every move. The Belar Chias claims no Belar alive could perform such magic. Just as well. It warms my heart to know there is a limit to their power, and that instead a human or an elf somewhere might be responsible for this so-called dream. Or perhaps... a lich! Chias told us much, including a tale of four mighty humans of old, the founders of Solas. The place is overrun with undead now and rumored to be controlled by a lich, the former head of Solas' Wizard's Guild. What would a lich want with us, though? Perhaps it believes we could be a force to be used against the Belar? I can think of worse fates! Ha!

Chias told us of a method for entering the dream voluntarily. I say we do just that, and attempt contact with whomever it is who tests us! Oh, what I would give to see the look on the Belar, or human, or elf, or lich's face if we could turn the tables! Unfortunately, we've got to get a permit first from the Belar for the potion used in the method before we can try. Unbelievable. A wizard must get a permit from the government to practice his Art. What is next? A license to use the privy?

March the Twenty-First

I have begun a new project with my anto. Slowly, I am learning that there is much more than meets the eye as far as the design and use of the Drow anto goes. It is not so simple a matter as copying drawings and deciphering the flowery descriptions left by the Dark Elves. They have hidden their secrets as deep as their fabled cities. I have just discovered that the anto can be made much more deadly with the correct aiming technique. Adjustments must be made in the midst of battle, but the little 'bow is well suited to finding an enemy's vulnerable spots. I've bought 500 bolts in anticipation of much practice.

This latest discovery has led me to a simple hypothesis concerning the Drow: they seek all advantage at all times. No matter how large or how slight, I believe I am safe in saying that no advantage is to be overlooked by a Drow. Simple enough? Ah, but much can this thought teach the astute student. Take my little anto, for example. The hand crossbow is the favored weapon of the Drow, their signature. Why? Long ago, my first thought was, "Because it is small, concealable, stealthy, nearly silent. It fits the Drow's character." "Nonsense," I say now. If a Drow needed to kill his enemy -- and all Drow need to kill some enemy -- then a Drow would not use a little crossbow if a great longbow would do a better job. After all, every Drow is an elf. The longbow is no stranger to an elf. If the longbow could shoot faster, pull harder, deliver a more deadly blow, then the Drow would use it. No advantage is to be neglected.

What this tells me is that while my current copy may be flawed, a true Drow-forged hand crossbow must be every bit as deadly as the mightiest longbow in the hands of a trained Drow. Otherwise, the trained Drow would simply use the mightiest longbow. I have much to learn. I have already discovered how to load the anto as quickly as an archer can notch an arrow. Here I once believed the longbow to have an advantage over the anto; now I know the little 'bow is just as quick. What other incorrect assumptions have I made? I can begin to see the advantages one might take in aiming the anto in combat. This is good, this is as the Drow would do, but there is still the question of sheer damage. The Drow would not surrender the advantage of death-dealing power and outright stopping ability. There must be a way to make the anto match the longbow, or else I can not explain its universal preference among the Dark Elves... Perhaps the bolt must be heavier or thicker, barbed just so, or made entirely of some Drow metal? Maybe the feathers must be turned to blades! The Drow do not hesitate to spend lavishly on their vices; they would spend equally on their arms! Who knows how much money their antos and the bolts they loose might cost to craft. Who knows what mixture of adamantite and mithril might be needed for the anto's lath to give it just the right balance between strength and flexibility. And who knows what their bolts might look like! Perhaps they are twice again as thick as the ones I have devised, based as they are on human crossbows! Perhaps they boast an adamantite tip to pierce the strongest armor and a mithril shaft for lightness in the air! Might the hole one opens in the Drow's quarry make a longbow shaft look puny in comparison? Many questions, and the answers are sure to be well-hidden! For now, though, I will content myself with practicing my aim, while I search for the next hidden gem in the crown!