To kill a hawkingbird :P

As darkness set in, I headed toward the area where Hannar said the hawks seemed to be nesting and spying on the encampment. They had been trained quite well! You would think that they would take flight and soar high overhead to spy upon the dwarves. Instead, these skulked about like the Dourhand, themselves! They would find a patch of tall grass on a hillside and land behind it. Then they would take flight, but only to hover right above the top of the grass, so they could look down into the encampment for a few seconds. They would then land again so as to avoid being seen! It was a cunning tactic, but it seemed so unnatural for such majestic and noble creatures.

I could not fault the hawks, of course. They had been enslaved by the Dourhand and, though I regret having to rid the hillside of them, it had to be done for the greater good.

Soon after, I spied a large ruin where many Dourhand were milling about. I skulked into the southern part of the Dourhand encampment and was able to find Dori without being noticed! Silently, I opened the door to his prison cell and uncuffed him. The poor dwarf appeared to be quite ill. Sweat beaded upon his brow, and he had a pained, feverish expression, almost as if he was not sure where he was. I whispered for him to follow me and started to sneak toward the edge of camp. We had not gone far, when he stopped and began to look around excitedly. As I began to beckon him forward, he cried, "My gems! I must find my gems!"

He began to run about the camp searching for the gems, while in the process alerting every single Dourhand and agent of theirs to our presence! I tried to fight them off, but there were far too many, and I was forced to flee. I gasped as I heard them raining blows upon him as I fled, but I dared not stop or we both would be lost.

I went back to Othrikar to gather allies. This would need to be a frontal assault, and we could only hope that Dori had not given in but kept his secrets so that the Dourhand would be forced to keep him alive. We headed toward the camp, fought our way inside and found Dori in the same prison. I was about to yell at the poor dwarf, but when I looked closer, I could tell that he had been beaten senseless. Just look at the expression on the poor soul's face! We half-carried, half-dragged him out as we fought off the remainder of the guards and brought him back safely to Othrikar.

Two jobs down, one left to do. I was very tired, and with dawn approaching, decided to stay in camp for some much needed rest. After getting my rest, I visited with the dwarves while waiting for night to fall. I then headed out for what I hoped would be a simple affair...

With Light,
Kaleigh