First Familiar Surroundings

Late this afternoon we reached the entrances to the Gnaeblin under-land.  As we passed inside, though a very welcoming entrance chamber, the light drew in and I began to feel properly at home once again.  I'm not sure if I imagined it, but I thought I could sense the copper ore as we went in deeper.  Within ten minutes or so of entering this place we were down into the proper dark.  How comforting it felt.

We stopped at a first familiar place - we'd reached Bilerren a town in the Borders where we'd passed through on the way out from Sanvell.  We were welcomed by Vachney the senior elder of the town, and he seemed very pleased to see us.  The mood in the town had changed.  Several of the young Gnaeblin who'd been off to fight had returned, and the youth unrest we'd encountered on our first visit had dissipated; the veterans have swayed opinion in a very positive way.  The town also seems to have lost very few of its young in the fighting, and is in celebratory mood.

They wanted to host another feast for us this evening, we couldn't disappoint them - but Gallanarre did have a quiet word about keeping the celebration somewhat low-key.  He asked that the town celebrate its own people's victory, and remember the young who would not be returning.  That call went down well, and Mullory offered to join the local religious leaders in praise and worship before the feast began.

We've been given more real beds to sleep in too.  I'm sure our tales will be told again during the feast - and Barr has promised that I'll be able to see some of the tricks he taught me today and yesterday being played out for real.  One of the most important tips, he stressed, is to keep the beer drinking to an absolute minimum, it's much easier to do the mathematics if your mind isn't trying to do it through a beer haze.