Dear Finavar,
I hope this missive finds you well, and in possession of your armor again. We got separated in the Factory last night and need to arrange a rendezvous. I won't have time to run back to the guildhall, but I know you would have gone there to recover from your resurrection. If you got one.

Let me relate to you what I remember, so we can avoid this in the future. Last night was a disaster, and I was extremely lucky to make it out alive, with the remnants of my group. If only we hadnit gotten separated, I am sure you would not have died. Anyhow, I should start at the beginning if we're going to figure out what went so wrong.

We arrived in the Plane of Innovation yesterday evening in response to the summons of Mallo, a raid leader, and the leader of our brother guild, the Coeur de Lion. By "we" I mean the Elven Elite, the Coeur de Lion, and our Allies, banded together for common cause into the Gathering of Banners. Though the call came unexpected, we had been preparing for many weeks for this day, and we ready to go at a moment's notice. Everyone was eager to begin, so we formed up our units and fought into the factory entrance. Actually, mowed is more accurate. The evil machines fell swiftly to our blades and spells.

Once inside the sealed building, we regrouped to wait for Krushh, the only GoB raid leader to have previously attempted this mission. His leadership abilities and tactics skill could make or break the fight. Suddenly, Mallo got word that the three Magnetic Prototypes were planning a surprise attack! He knew we had to act quickly and decisively, and there was no time to buff. Our only chance was to take them down, concurrently. To prevent them from coming together and destroying us before we had even begun.

Luckily, the Prototypes did not know or hidden strength. We were, in fact, 2 raids, not 1, with far more than the 72 people who usually put in an appearance at these things. Therefore, we were able to divide ourselves into 3 groups for a massive preemptive strike. We were assigned to the center company, led by the warrior, Kenelan. We charged our target, The Magnetic Prototype X, with lightning speed, but quickly a stiff spray of oil slowed our attack. It didn?t stop us cold, but motion suddenly became a test of endurance as we trudged further in. Fighting against the sticky substance, we engaged the huge machine. Several times we were rebuffed by the waves of hot oil, which sapped our health and ability to attack. But Kenelan was strong, and our forces powerful. My own group was hurt, and while their wounds needed tending, I knew the fastest way to end their pain would be to destroy the source. Praying to my Goddess, Tunare, I evoked the energy of Wildfire to my aid. Though the cost was high, and the concentration long, I threw the fierce blast of fire at the machine. Hit! Cogs and bolts rained down from below as the massive beast took its last step. With a thunderous crash, it hit the ground, throwing off electric shocks and sparks. It whirred and clicked a few times, and the construct fell silent. Finally I was able to heal the hurts of my friends, acquired in the arduous fight. As we washed off the oil and cleaned up, word came from the other groups that they had been equally successful. A great cheer went up through the ranks.

We were able to confiscate one of the coveted healing hats from a downed Prototype, but it was hotly contested. Though I wanted it badly, I did not want to claim against my guild mates. Luckily, it went to my friend, Lorrelei, who is sure to make good use of it. Rest assured, though, I will be back for my own. Not today, perhaps, but it won't be long now.

About this time, who should appear but the long-awaited Krushh, who causally strolled into the factory and surveyed the damage? Actually, strolled is the wrong word for Krushh's size and mass. He stomped, and the floor shook, but we politely ignored that and greeted him as befits the raid leader of the Elven Elite. Mallo remaine d the l eader of this raid, but he and Krushh had a quick conference, and then called us to begin buffing.

We followed Mallo to a hallway, outside the Behemoth's room. By now, surely, he knew we were coming, but he could do nothing. Yet. The Behemoth may be named for his immense size, but that is more a weakness to him than strength. His true strength is his magic, a powerful area effect that throws you though the air and drains your mana as it takes your health. His mobility is limited, but he can hurt many without touching them with his blades. To maintain his power, the Behemoth has an army of spider creatures, who bring him energy. The energy comes from four adjacent rooms, and is carried by the spiders to the massive one by means of an explosion, which is more dangerous that the magic of the actual monster. In order to even approach him without dying, all of the spiders must first die, and any new ones must be killed immediately, before they can carry that deadly energy to our enemy.

With this in mind, I volunteered my group to take one of those 4 rooms of spiders. The spider-killing job, while not glamorous, is very important. If even one spider lives to get into Behemoth's room, the entire raid will die. It is hard, tedious, and demanding, but I was sure my group could handle it. Switching out Zoari, a beastlord, for Nanbkek, a tank, I took Vicktore, Nalitra, Nanbkek, Finavar, and Gorde to the Northeast room. There we were joined by several groups from Raid 2, Including Inyiin, Saranthasala, Pochette, and several others I knew well. Most of us had been here before, and were hoping to do better this time.

The Behemoth cannot be killed until no spiders have reached him for several minutes. Only then does his power drain just enough to even get him in target. So we killed spiders, which came faster and faster. Finavar, you took Faltigoth to use your trueshot skill against the Behemoth. You left early in the fight, and neither of you ever returned. I knew that was a bad sign, as you had promised to come back to my side once your discipline was done. I know you would not leave me without some dire reason. You must have been prevented from returning by some evil force. So I do not know what happened in that great fight. I do know that our spiders were dying easily, and I sent a number of people back to the big room. I got reports that the behemoth was almost dead, but that so was most of our force! How could this happen? I sent more and more of our people to that room, none of which returned.

Suddenly, I was rocked by a huge blast of air, which threw me though the air. Bruised, I pulled myself together and memorized the evacuation spell from my spell book. That blast meant that Behemoth was loose, no longer pinned against the wall and under Krushh?s control. But wait. I can't cast succor, that would only take my own group, and I have people from Raid 2 to under my care. If I left them, I would live for certain, and they would certainly die. Sadly, I memorized a different spell in its place, the spell that imparted us with the fast moving Spirit of the Wolf.

Quickly we left that room, rushing along the corridor. Somewhere along the way, spiders attacked a young shaman. I knew if we stopped to heal him, the spiders would attack us. I gritted my teeth and yelled for my people to come. We had to let him die, in order for the rest of us to get away. This made me angry, but I knew the spiders would not have attacked him unless he had first diverted them from their primary focus.

We met up with another small force, and banded together to fight our way out. When we finally stopped to rest, I examined the group. We were missing several, weary and dispirited. There was no going back that day; the Behemoth would not be sitting there waiting. He would run away. I knew we had wounded him grievously, but he was not dead. Alone, somewhere, he sits and licks his wounds, and heals.

I don't know what happened after that. I made my way back to the Plane of Tranquility to find you, fo r sure l y, if you were alive, you would have passed this way. I could find no footprints, but I did find the remnants of some summoned arrows, the kind you favor. By this time, I was so weary I could hardly see, but I made my way towards the Plane of Knowledge and our guildhall. If you had come this way, that is where you would go, knowing I could find you there. On my route, I somehow stumbled across some brush and tripped. Looking about, I could not recognize my surroundings. I knew I was too weary to find my way home and decided to rest a short while. Surely a tiny nap could not hurt, and you would be safe at the guildhall.

When I woke, I found myself in a place I knew. I had somehow made it to the Plane of Storms. I blinked my eyes, wondering how long I had slept, when I recognized the cause of my awakening. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of Iksar, bearing the markings of the Altruistic Valorians, had used my hidden corner for a secret meeting. I cannot write down what they said, lest this missive fall into the wrong hands. All I can say is that they have plans to kill every single frog in this place. While that seems a small thing, should they succeed, they will spawn a cycle of events that could land them with an object of amazing power. We must not let this happen! With that kind of power in AV, they would surely try to destroy us. If we had that power, perhaps we could destroy the Behemoth and gain access to places they cannot follow.

Please come quickly and bring enough fighters! We must destroy the frogs and get that object before they do. We must not fail again. I will await you in the caves and gather more information about these frogs.


I await you, my love.

Bianca