I'm free! Praise Gond I'm free! Four, maybe five years in chains, but I finally got my chance when that guard was taken ill. The fool drow might have though I was safe chained to the workbench, but ten minutes with some nails and a vice was all I needed to improvise a set of a half dozen lockpicks and wrenches. When they led us back to the slave quarters, I picked my own manacles as the guard fastened another captive to the chain, and scarpered into the sewers as we turned a corner. Got the hells out of that damned city as quickly and silently as I could manage.

Picked my way through the tunnels in search of somewhere less hostile, when I noticed one of the Greys alone in a camp. By the state of the place, looked like an outcast, not a slaver, so I reckoned he was worth the risk to talk to. Failing that, I could nick some of his supplies and get out of there.

Turned out he was a bit bad, if anything, but he did point me in the direction of a "Sanctuary and offer me a potion as payment for delivering a map to some "Seeker".

Arrived at what had to be the place, a walled courtyard surrounded by armed human guards and defense weapons. Could barely belive such a place could exist in these caverns, but set to doing what I'd sworn I would the second I got back out to civilisation. Get some real clothes, find a tavern, buy a pie, drink an ale, go to sleep!

While devouring my first pie in far too godsdamned long, I got conversing with a lady named Elina, who seems to be planning on being voted into the governing council of the place. Thanks to her I found out about the frankly amazing Sending system, a sort of magically powered "town cryer stone". With devices like this around, I'm sure there is much of interest to investigate, and hopefully some challenging locks too. And where there's locks... there's loot!

Took on a hightly dangerous, yet fortunately most simple and profitable little task. A gnome was calling out for a mercenary or scout to recover his lost pack, which was torn from him by an attacking giant lizard just outside town. I agreed to recover it in exchange for half the contents, as between my own light step and that Grey's potion, I could likely avoid any reptile's notice.

Recovered the pack, but since the fool gnome went ahead of me, he almost died at the jaws of the beast. Dragged him off unconscious and patched him up a bit. I figured that for a haul like this I owed him one.

Let him have about half the stuff back as promised, mostly the bits of little use to me. Kept a rather handy shortbow that seems to have metal plates to deflect blows. All in all, a tidy profit, with all the gold and potions I kept.

By hiring out my services as a scout and cracksman to parties of adventurers and mercenaries, I'm managing to get my old skills back, those tricks of tinkering and stealth that grew dull in drow captivity. I've been practicing my lock-breaker's skills in the abandoned Dunwarren district so as not to riase the ire of the guard, and I've discovered a very promising couple of storage rooms, one of which seems to contain piles of tomes, blocked off thought they are by arcing lightning.

Ah, it's good to get these fingers to work on a proper puzzle once more, and even better to do so in the company of fellow engineers. I responded to a recruiting poster for "The Independent Mechanist's Guild of Dunwarren", an organisation run by a local gnome, and seem to have impressed them with my skill at locating and gaining entry to sealed sections of the ruins enough to be granted membership that same day.

The current membership roster seems to consist of myself and three gnomes: Dalavan, a stout warrior and also a skilled tinker. Mr Flirpono, A Priest of Gond, no less. I guess that the Wonderbringer smiles on my ingenuity down here. Naerilti, a mage and potion crafter.

Shorty after showing Naerilti some of the locations I uncovered, Davavan had an assignment for us. He'd located a map to an abandoned mine that may hold salvageable equipment. Upon reaching it, I quickly scouted out that the only useful devices left were the traps laid by its Bugbear denizens. They were simple enough to acquire for my own use, and between my own trapper's skills and the priest's cunning in luring the enemy from their positions, we ruined any advantage of postioning they held.

The salvage was well worth the risk, as we recovered some powerful magical devices of great use to myself. A obsidian dagger and glassy-studded armor, both able to unleash some minor dark magics. Of the rest, a spear of similar capability stood out as useful, and we have placed that for sale to fund the rent on a workshop.

Bolted a new set of sights on to my crossbow. I think a different design may compensate better for arrow drop.

After being forced by circumstance to fight several malfunctioning and blazing animatrons up close, I believe I should spend some time in practice at the arena with my axe and dagger, so as to better learn skill with blades. Perhaps I should request some lessons or sparring with Dalavan?