[Snacks]

(This document is written mostly in common but is littered with odd symbols and notes in the margins in another language, almost like they were inserted after the fact)

I'm primarily constructing this journal for posterity, since I am accessing archives of the Swords of the Lady to augment my research I feel it would be poor form of me not to not add my findings to their wealth of knowledge. I must make haste with my scribing, however, since my grasp of this land's most pervasive language is limited without the use of several expensive tinctures and the head scribe's thesaurus.

It has been some time now since I've taken up the hammer and honed my skills as a blacksmith. I've spent countless days next to the searing heat of the forge, hammering until my hands bled and my muscles gave way to exhaustion, and only recently come to the point where I could say that I've attained mastery. I plan on using this skill to aid in the battles to come against future darkness, but first I must appeal to the history and knowledge of greater smiths before me.

There are a few leads to start with. First, the newly manifested Shadow Iron holds some qualities in secret that might be used to assist in the creation of augmented equipment, and though it seems to hold some degree of affinity for negative energy I've found that with enough time the flaws of the metal can be removed and its qualities polished. I'm unsure yet as to whether or not its presence would help or hinder in the project I have in mind.

Secondly, I feel that appealing to the divine entities that may wish to see this blight on the land extinguished might assist in the creation of equipment potent enough to withstand or strike against the denizens of Roz'dha or the devout of Shar. I will speak with the Silverstars of our Keep to see if they know anything. Amriel, the renowned smith and  son of the half-celestial Eea'Lunar, was recently taken in by our order at the request of his father whom we'd rescued. His father's sword seems to have been made of a metal that divining magics have identified as 'Celestial Silver'. Unfortunately the blade was corrupted while in the hands of an enemy infernal smith, but maybe Amriel could shed some light as to whether or not this alloy can be reproduced or in some way purified.

Lastly, there are plenty of unique materials present in the lands surrounding Hadrian. Along with Shadow Iron I've ample amounts of silver, precious gems and even adamantine. I'll gather as much as I can of each to test their properties and record my findings here. I'm under no illusion that this process will take some time, but this has been a long-standing goal of mine, and with my previous investitures in the task I feel I may already be through with the hardest part.

[Snacks]

An initial survey many of the mining grounds surrounding Hadrian yielded little fruit. I found only common minerals. A few traces of other useful things, but not enough to justify the effort of digging them out. I did happen to get a few samples from the caves to the east that contain the strange, green crystal that one arcanist in Hadrian claims is used to make magic items. I'll have to examine it with the help of my more magic savvy allies. Hadrian hills had some interesting stones I'd never seen before, and people still find adamantine there, but I'll have to move on for now.

A month or so ago I participated in a reclamation of some magic items for House Skettus, and amongst the found objects was a slightly damaged orb that seems to crackle with power. I've been entertaining the idea of using it as a power source for a forge, or use it for material in one of my creations, but once again this may require the mind of a magic user.

I'll be leading a group out to the Great Mine of the orcs in order to get some samples from there. The size of the ruined operation there suggests that there may be resources usable there, but it may also be depleted of its value. The orcs have been a large problem for the people of Nualla'n, so maybe there is potential to deal with several problems simultaneously on this venture.

[Snacks]

After rallying a large group of adventurers we began the task of clearing out the orcs from the Great Mine. We started from the orc hills and worked our way into the mine from the main camp entrance. The orcs responded as they usually do, with a thousand arrows and a flurry of black tentacles (let it be known that I hate that spell), but after slaying hundreds and felling their leaders we were free to explore the inside. The top level closest to the Gillian River entrance seems to have a wing that's been blocked off with fallen boulders and sturdy looking doors. Excavating the rubble may take some time, several visits and likely some kind of explosive or magical passage.

Deeper within we found what looked to be a sealed door with a warning that hinted it linked with the underdark, likely want to keep that one sealed. Even deeper we found what looked to be a sealed door showing markings of a non-orcish nature. I suspect either ancient elves or dwarves put it up. I'm no scholar, though, so I might leave the task of finding that out to Celebrithrade, Aquaria, or someone else. I took a rubbing of it so that I could convey what I saw to anyone who wants to look into it.  I've decided that with their constant encroachment on our lands that the orcs need a defining push against their advances. I fear this will take the form of a mass extermination of their forces sometime in the future before they can rally enough warriors to push on the region. As for efforts to locate precious materials, I took several samples from some promising segments of the mine network and will be looking at them later.

Hopefully I find something.

[Snacks]

Reaver Isabeau led a mission to clear out the northern region of the goblin and orc marauders that had siezed land there. We chased them into the hills to a fortified cave network and set out to destroy their defenses. The battle was long and bloody, but by the end of it I'm confident they won't be moving on the land any time soon. I'll be asking for the ability to survey some of what we'd found there  since it appears to also have been used for mining. I'll continue looking regardless in the hopes that I get lucky.