Finally! An ass-kicking by us! Not the greatest strategical planning and execution I have ever seen, but apparently we were too mighty for this band of smugglers. Thank the Gods I was able to convince the rest of the party that Web was well worth the expense as an insurance policy, because without Malif casting that twice I'm sure we would have been toast. Malif also made an arrow shot that I still have never come close to accompishing, and I have taken at least twice as many shots as he has! Oh, well, maybe someday as I am told that 1 in every 20 or so shots should be that good. And Vernon returns and actually does some good for us! Not that he didn't try to get us all killed at least a couple of times, but he claims he was only risking his own life. Not that it explains why he was willing to throw his own life away, but maybe believing in your God that much fucks up your head. We will definitely need to sit down with him and explain that regardless of his own death wish, the rest of the party would very much prefer to live a long and prosperous life, at least long enough to taste the sweet Belar snatch!

May 6:

Griffon stopped me in Pavalar and congratulated me on getting Pox and his gang. Also let me know that if the Guild had been protecting him, we would have been in trouble. Nice of him to care, but when we come back, I think the Guild will not want to fuck with us, but we might check with them just to be sure. I thought I smelled Alana's perfume on him (someone might let the female rogues know that perfume is unwise in our profession), so he might be banging her, but I kept it to myself because Malif is not known for being subtle, and even though he claims he doesn't care for Alana, why stir the pot just before we leave town for a while?

I feel ready to progress, but the rest of these turkeys aren't ready yet. I will have to wait for some of them, and then I will improve the sneaky skills I need to be ready for my entrance test to "The Hand".