Benito, as you have noticed, I have secured and assembled the basic equipment for the lab. Now that this first phase is completed, there are many issues to address. Firstly, I am very reluctant to leave anything else inside the lab unattended, as I was unable to properly secure the door. I put trust in Officer Barkley and the Agents and they would surely stop anyone from leaving the enclave, but with the door like this, I am not sure how quickly they could respond to someone choosing to completely destroy what I’ve worked for.

Secondly, I noticed that you’ve, or someone else has placed extra material in the lab. I have not had the time to carefully look over what has been placed there, so I feel it would be worth the effort to make an inventory of our supplies and what other resources are available. The texts seemed particularly interesting, and with your permission, I would like to look over this material. The supplies that I have used up to this point have been largely sourced from the local merchants, and are limited at best. If the Spellguard already has a well stocked supply of ingredients, reagents, catalysts, and other necessities, then I would like to discuss the possibilities of my access to them. Particularly, I am curious as to whether or not the Spellguard keeps a fresh source of flesh fungus. In order to begin studying the nature of these problems, I will need a decent supply to observe and study the different samples that I have collected. You know that this is vital to a proper study. If it is not available, I will be seeing if I can find others to perhaps collect this for us.

Lastly, I would like to make sure the Spellguard knows why I will be spending so much time in the enclave once this fungus is found and I can begin my work. It would be preferable and more efficient if I can work with as few disruptions as possible; already I have had to explain my presence to one of the Agents at an untimely moment. It would be best if all three of these matters were looked into soon.

Also, I briefly tried to speak with the assistant you hired, but it seemed to me, and himself, that he was very out of place. If you have not done so already, we should talk to him so he can learn more about this process, and especially, for the time being, what to do when visitors arrive and the door is closed.

And I need to talk to you about the election.

-Strife

General reply: [Private letter, Strife] 13th day of Uktar in the year 150 Agent Delgado, Spellguard

I would like to begin by congratulate you on your efforts with the lab Strife, quite well done. Secondly, the doors are being worked on and keys created to allow you, and any others that should be allowed it, easy access to the laboratory without having to risk getting unwanted elements in there. I'm having my assistant, Jeffrey, read some things concerning general reagents and such. When he is finished with that, I will have him make an inventory of what supplies we have. It will do him good to familiarize himself with what substances we use. I do not think we keep any kind of fresh source of any fungi, atleast not as far as I know, but I'll inquire into the matter. I've had some thought on somehow having the adventurers of Sanctuary gather the reagents we need a steady supply of for us in exchange for a small reward.

You can read and use whatever you find in there Strife. Everything there is for our mutual benefit. Do not be afraid of asking Jeffrey for assistance should you require it, nothing more than general assistance with fetching reagents and things like that to begin with though. When he's been able to familiarize himself properly with what we use, I will allow him to start reading further on how to use reagents with each other. You are welcome to answer any questions he has concerning the craft.

Get into contact with me at the Enclave as soon as you can concerning the elections.

*signed* Agent Delgado

General Inquiry: [Personal letter, Strife] 14th day of Uktar in the year 150 Agent Delgado, Spellguard

Strife, I will be spending most, if not all, of my time during the next couple of weeks in the Enclave. I wish to dedicate my time towards assisting Jeffrey to understand his duties and become proficient in them. I also wish to study some of the things we have discovered, the vials you carry in particular. It would be appreciated if you could come to the Enclave with what you have so I can take a look at it. You are ofcourse welcome to assist in the process as much as you wish. If you are able to gain posession of any reagents, either common or uncommon, here in the Underdark I would appreciate it if you could forward them to the laboratory so I will be able to properly familiarize myself with the assortments them we have down here.

You are ofcourse, as always, welcome to come to the laboratory and have a chat with me if you so wish.

*signed* Agent Delgado

Another letter left for Agent Delgado

Agent Delgado, I am pleased to see that the laboratory is now securely sealed, and that leaves only the issue of my access to the lab to be addressed – I do not yet possess a key. I can leave what I have, and the initial documentation, once that is taken care of. If I do not find you soon, I am sure that Officer Barkley, or Jeffery, could be informed of the situation.

Speaking of which, Jeffery still does not seem comfortable when I approach him, and has said very little when I inquire anything, which has been little itself. I feel it would be best to have you personally introduce me to him, or at least inform him who it is who wishes to speak to him. A natural way to invoke this relationship would be to have him provide me the access to start. The sooner that he can begin to offer us assistance will be the sooner that his true apprenticeship will begin.

I am going to take the initiative on this research and look to the citizens of the Sanctuary for help in acquiring this fungus, and also a few other resources that I would venture to guess are in limited supply. Payment is obvious for this task, and for this to begin, I will be offering coin to successful gatherers from my own purse. This will likely be something that I will discuss with you later, in person, and most likely, have to be addressed with the Officers as well.

And soon, we should continue work on the spheres at the gates. And talk about this election as well. Before the ballots open.

-Strife

This note is left open on top of a large book in the Spellguard Laboratory

Benito, In this book, you will find the initial documentation of the compounds that I have come across, and the compounds have been labeled and placed inside the reagent rack. Please amend your findings to this text, so that we can continue each other’s progress when not in person.

Also, I feel that it may be too early to introduce Jeffery to this delicate research. He should continue with familiarizing himself with the equipment, and cataloging the reagents that are currently available. Nevertheless, choose what you feel is best for him.

Strife