Dear Kailie,

I have finally connected with the local group that initially began braving the wilderness. You may remember that I mentioned them in previous letters, weeks ago, before I met Mister Reggie and he took me on as his assistant. At the time they seemed to be the best candidates for facilitating one of my reasons for being out here–that being exploration, I mean. Discovery for the sake of discovery. Of course in the interim I appear to have lucked into my own little group of bold adventurers, but it was interesting to meet them all the same.

They definitely remind me of people from home. The one they call Zep is an interesting young fellow. Emphasis on “young”. He strikes me as the sort whom Miss Ethyl’s youngest might get on well will–you know, Yedrick, the one mother barred from the house for painting moustaches on all of the portraits of her grandmother. (Personally I had the misfortune to meet the woman once and found the stunt quite amusing.) As an example, this Zep joyfully tried to slide down a carved incline in a cave we were all exploring, without thinking beforehand of a way to arrest his descent, and without knowing what awaited him at the bottom. Luckily, other members of the group prevented him from careening into the yawning crevasse ahead, which we estimated was perhaps sixty feet deep or so.

Also I theorize that Zep is another magic user, as it appears as though things somehow keep happening around him. If he is, he’s a very queer sort, as I do not believe him to be consciously aware of his own arcane ability.

Oh dear, and I failed to mention Pipi in my last letter. Naturally, I am certain that you will excuse the omission; it was quite a fraught day.

Pipi is a gnome, and has the uncanny ability to turn into all sorts of creatures. In contrast to Zep, she is a very intentional caster, and one whom I daresay may become frighteningly powerful as she gets stronger. Her ability is already quite impressive. During yesterday’s excursion, she at one point transformed herself into a large and fearsome bear. She also talks faster than my cousin did that one time we caught him partaking of a substance that shall remain nameless.

Then there are Dume and Bartek. Dume is only a half-elf, but she seems pleasant enough. (And also strangely sad, perhaps?) She apparently came to Stannisberg at the same time as myself, though on a different boat in the fleet. Bartek works among the town’s rangers, and earned some fame for himself around the time of my arrival by killing a ghoul. He was the person whom I was most eager to meet, as nearly everyone with whom I inquired about forming exploration sorties directed me to him. We never quite connected, however, until yesterday evening.

Six of us returned to the caves today–Mister Reggie stayed back in town to conduct research on that queer sap we had gathered–and encountered more of the undead, by which we are all thoroughly repulsed. Additionally, at the lip of the crevasse I mentioned, we saw signs of a rope bridge that had been cut to prevent passage to the area on the other side. This combined with signs of an intentional cave-in discovered yesterday has convinced myself and Karth, at the very least, that there may yet be living beings somewhere in this system of caves.

As if it were not enough that these undead monstrosities exist, they all possess enough intelligence to have language, and some of them enough even to strategize. The six of us made quick work of some of them, though–those being, the ones that we could reach. There was at least one down in the crevasse that was beyond us.

I need to practice against targets during safe times back in town, I fear, as my aim with my offensive spells is erratic. I am feeling stronger and more assured of my abilities with each passing day, however. If nothing else, they have enabled me to understand the speech of animals, which is useful when Pipi is a bear, and the gravelly mutterings of the strategist undead.

I do wonder at what cost I have the privilege of exploring these arcane feats, however. And I have had ill visions of late during my evening’s meditations.

But I will not darken your day with such thoughts. I hope that the approaching summer finds you well, my dear Kailie.

All My Love,

X