Fire-Forged Friends

Dangerous circumstances have torn me away from the Ironbeard clan, but not in spirit. We had used significant arcane resources to secure passage to this fiery plane, in hopes of trading some of our purest gems for the astral diamonds that could be found here. The negotiations were fruitful. The elemental delegate seemed amused that a "sparkly fairy lass" was in the company of so many dour dwarves, but I was uninterested in telling my life story to a strange fire person. As it happened, I didn't need to, as complicated business with a magical portal suddenly brought me into the company of these... I suppose you would call them "adventurers"?

They are a diverse group, but they seem unified in their goal to acquire oft-mentioned "Phoenix Items". They are apparently artifacts of great power. This power could supposedly be used by Evil Forces, so the adventurers are determined to find them first. One doesn't like to pry.

My role in the tragic events at Cauldron was minimal. Though I was glad to see many of the slaves fly off to freedom in their bizarre balloon boats, the deaths of those on the surface were undignified and dishonourable. I did what I could to give peace to as many as possible.I can only hope that the contingent from Clan Ironbeard was far away from Cauldron at the time.

We're making our way towards the City of Brass, where anything can be acquired for a price. The adventurers seem confident that a royal fiend has two of the Phoenix Items in his possession and we intend to relieve him of that burden. The route to the City passed through a forest of ash. Actual ash, not ash trees. It smudged my wings and gave me a slight cough, but the trees were otherwise serene. We came across some ill-tempered Salamanders (half-snake, half-man, half-fire), including one that seemed to have unfinished business from Cauldron, but Del (a devout worshiper of something called "The Silver Flame", more on him later) and Ethan (a street fighting gymnast, same) dealt with them handily. I also made some small contributions to the proceedings. Typical hammer-to-the-head contributions.

Our hope is to rest in the salamanders' lair for the evening, but my instincts tell us that we won't be able to sleep yet. Hopefully, it's just nerves.

Moradin Guide Thee,

Helia Ironbeard, Clan Ironbeard