[Riddled with bolt piercings and akward bruises, this dark blue book is in... "less-than-good" shape. Nevertheless, it is free of dirt, debris, fungi, blood, alcohol, or any other common Underdark covering that silently states misuse or that it has been handled carelessly. It looks to have once been over three-hundred pages, but about a hundred or so have been torn out. The crossed-out front cover says Berich's Tome of Underdarkian Exploration. Instead of Berich's field notes, the book holds the thoughts of it's new owner, Azen Salek.] _____________________________________________________ I found this book in Sanctum Library-it had lots of wierd maps that were mostly unfinished, so I thought the place wouldn't mind if I kept it. I ripped out most of the pages so I could write my own notes on Underdarkian exploration, whatever that means. _____________________________________________________ Day One Not sure what date it is, and to be honest, I don't care. I just want to get to grab another drink, then head up to Uppertown's Nice-Inn. The only reason I'm so weary is because of Boss and his goblin-killing. Or maybe it's because he brought along those two ugly lizard men. Why'd he bring lizard men-they're abominations! I've been hunted by them before, yet two were in Lowertown Inn like it was nothing!

At least Traensyr didn't have lizard men running around in inns... Well, then again, I never got to see the inns anyway, so I suppose I'll never really know.

Why is this town so kind to lizard men and goblins? Soon I'll be seeing more rat men and bird men in that rat-laiden Lowertown. I'm starting to... doubt Boss's smarts. I suppose he's got the gold, the jobs, and the allies-he's also-kind of nice to me. Maybe I just need to be more in his favour before I can get more benefits out of it all. Then I can try to do a little something on my own.

Gods, I need some sleep to clear my head. _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________ Day Three (Composed of Two & Three) I still do not know the date; something I need to ask some time. I suppose there's been quite a lot going on for me-rather, against me.

II. I recieved a lot of things from boss that day. He gave me a fine cloak, some gloves, and some ugly sling. I'm not so sure about the sling, but the rest of the gifts seemed to be perfect for me. Captain isn't the best boss, but he makes sure that I'm alive-which I know is alot in the Underdark.

I explored a bit in Sanctuary (in the Ruins and in the odd-place Lowertown) only to be attacked by a boar (among other lesser creatures such as rats and bats). I got a gaping wound in my leg now-I suppose it'll serve as a reminder not to go snooping around places alone-or unprepared. Either which.

When I returned, Boss offered me a place in his mercenary crew, which I doubt is operative right now. Boss isn't the most organized guy, from what I've seen so far. After agreeing to be a part of his company-or "crew", he names it-he left, telling me not to get in trouble.

Nothing of importance happened in Lowertown (the Crone specifically; I'm sure that outside of the inn Lowertown was bustling with it's constant acts of vice), so I went up into Uppercity Inn and met an offbeat man named Bilby.

He offered me a job, which I gratefully took (alone, I should note). I was to go dodge some finely-tuned traps and retrieve a belt-or assure him that his security system was optimal with my corpse in his house.

The last thing I could remember was that I opened his door; everything else is a blur.

III. Today was really strange. I found myself with nothing but some rags in some large, nearly-empty stone building. I got out of the place as quickly as possible and walked to Lowertown to find Boss. It wasn't exactly the best idea, as he asked where all my things were-most of the things of which he gave me.

I also met up with Fed, the lottery guy. He was telling me a few things-that'd be tonight, for starters. I should stop writing and go see him now-I wish I'd asked him where he'd be drawing the numbers. ____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________ [Written in the previous owner's handwriting, this scripture is hasted and sloppy. Azen's own "touch-"a bunch of scribbles are over the words in an effort to eliminate Berich's notes. The whole passage is entirely illegible, thanks to Azen.]

_____________________________________________________ [This writing is much neater than all of Salek's previous entries, yet the above crossed-out mess mars the entries' "professional" look.]

Day Four Okay, okay, so I have no idea what day it is-still, but I keep forgetting. Besides the little bit of exploring, I did very little today except eat, drink, sleep, and laze about at the Lowertown Tavern.

I also got a nice new crossbow-brighter colours than my old one, which makes it even better. I also got some nice, studded leather armour for myself-which, admittedly, is far better than then the rags I got from the stone building.

I got a letter from some guy who wants the book, but I seemed to have lost it; it would've raked in a fair amount of gold, I think-but I can't be phased by such a small loss.

In truth, I don't think gold is that valuable. To me, it's simply some nice, glittery rocks that you can barter with... that otherwise have little value. Boss seems to think otherwise, and goes looking around for work that'll pay him well-including killing people he doesn't even know.

I don't really know-maybe if they offered a nice cloak, or some sharp bolts, or (especially) for tough, strong, morningstar I'd go hunting down body-less names. Maybe.

A bit else of notice-Boss didn't seem right when I saw him today. He asked me if I was me and then ran off with little preamble.

Besides that, today was sluggish and slow. I don't have many of those days, so I'm grateful. _____________________________________________________