Of course, retrieving the magical mines did not go as smoothly as Iskandar had promised. As the elementals began to rise out of the ground, I realized we had made a mistake in not asking for some of the money up front. Luckily, the TIP pulled together and prevailed. I'm proud of the team we are becoming.

But for some reason, this fight hit several of the party very hard. We'll have to keep an eye on one another, make sure everyone is cared for. I wouldn't want us to survive the physical wounds and then fall apart because of the mental ones. 

Seems the smoke we spotted was related to the man the rangers sought. Vani and Jean's small stature has proved to be a great advantage. They're just the right size to interact with children. Without the information they gathered from Freiburg's children, we wouldn't have known about the Witchhunter holed up in a nearby barn. Talking to (and healing) the barn's owner allowed us to sow some seeds of good will. If it hadn't already borne fruit, I'd be more worried about the fact that doing so put us at odds with the Tong. We will definitely need to keep all our senses peeled for repercussions. In the meantime, we'll also take steps to keep the Tong from learning anymore about our efforts against them.

Especially since our 5th commission will again be in opposition to the Tong. Thankfully, not direct opposition. Still, disguising the girl as we leave Therengrad just seems like being prudent. I'll have to be sure to remind Stuart that he never saw us (wink wink, nudge nudge).

Oh, and then there's Iskandar. That scoundrel gambled away the money to pay our commission in the two days it took us to recover the mines. He gives scoundrels a bad name! I'm not convinced that this deed he's offering as compensation isn't just for some run down shambles. We'll take him and the mines along as insurance. Now how do we make sure he doesn't run off with the mines mid-trip?  A bag full of comparable size rocks with an illusion cast on them? And illusions cast on the mines to make them appear as... normal rocks? Trail bread? Potatoes? Spread them out amongst the party?