The third layer is far more civilized than I thought it would be. When I was told there was a settlement here the vision in my mind was that of grizzled men and haggard women scratching out a living in an inhospitable place. The reality is far nicer. Friendly faces happy to meet someone new, although I wouldn't want to cross anyone.

I'm sure we all could have done with more rest after the previous day but Thug was too energetic to let the rest of us lay about. Ceila was about to leave without saying goodbye to any of us before I woke. Her objective is was completed and her land needed her. She smiled when I said I'd come by for a visit once I my business in the Abyss was through. Her wound isn't healed yet but she said she could take care of it herself. There's no doubt in my mind that she'll report what happened in full including how much of a help we were to her.

Thug nearly pushed us all out the door soon after. Eric was groggy, Few was silent and distant, Zanvar was fine on account of the fact he doesn't sleep, and I was simply tired still. Annie resealed the tree house for use another day. I had thought one of them owned it but it's more of a public place to rest safely on the second layer. Thug drove us like slaves through a jungle littered with those pebbles that fell yesterday until we came to a towering out of place boulder. She patted the side of it with a grin on her face. She slid a fake section to the side uncovering a dark entryway. She said this was her favorite and fastest way from the second to the third layer. I peered into it, there was a steep ramp that curved to the side. Before I could say anything I was pushed in by a laughing Thug and Annie.

I slid, spiraling down and down. For minutes I spun around in the darkness until I managed to wedge myself against the outside. I heard a distant whistling closing in on me. Wee had been trying very hard to follow me but was terrified of the slide down. When he came around the bend his tail knocked me loose. I was sent tumbling but atleast I wasn't alone, and neither was he. I held onto Wee's leg and together we made it to the bottom.

The first thing I noticed was the smell of dank moist soil. Soil like that is the perfect place for the blue luminescent mushrooms that light this level to grow. The mushrooms here are like a combination of a tree and the sun. When a new day is dawning they slowly brighten their spots and when another night has fallen they dim. The others came slipping and sliding down one by one. The only ones who enjoyed the ride were the two who had forced me down it. It was no fun but it was far better than spending days hiking down a mountain like we'd done to get to the second layer.

The path from the slide to town was well defined. We plodded along for a time without interruption. I had done most of the talking until I noticed something poking its nose out from behind a mushroom's stem. Annie said it was called a kangaroo, a strange sort of beast hopping about on two legs and a tail. I placed my hand on my bow but thought better of it. Eric, however, took it upon himself to take the bow from my hands and attempt to fire an arrow at it himself. The bow is nearly twice as tall as he is. He must not realize just how much skill it takes to be as good a marksman as I am. His shot landed in the stem.

The kangaroo's eyes gleaned with a strangely clear ill intent. Dozens more kangaroos began peaking their heads out from behind other mushrooms. Thug distanced herself from Eric and advised us to do the same. No sooner had we done so did Eric begin to feel some regret for his actions. The kangaroos surrounded him, one of them pushing him flat on his back, and each took a turn giving him a swift kick to the midsection. Once they'd had their revenge they bounced off like nothing had ever happened. Eric struggled to stand, laughing the whole time. I'd hope that a thrashing like that would beat a lesson into his head but he was clearly too pleased with himself afterwards for that to be true.

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As we walked along Annie tried to give us a lay of the land. A long ways off down a barely marked path to the right was a second smaller village at the edge of a marshy lake. That lake fed a river that ended at a pool next to the main settlement of Dragonhallow. The settlement is built much like Endclif, on a cliff looking over the way down. Past the town and around the pit is a strange looking workshop home to an equally strange inventor. If you took a fork in the path to the inventor's you would end up at a ruined cathedral. I hope to visit all of these places before we move on. The distance between Dragonhallow and any one of these places isn't so far that we couldn't.

The first thing to greet us was a man tied to a post on the edge of town gasping for air through chapped lips. After giving him a drink he said he had been caught stealing from a local woman. There doesn't seem to be any real authority here, just a collection of people living together. Justice is taken however it can be taken by whoever can take it. Thug wanted to show us around and maybe show us off a little bit too. Her friends were at the local curio shop, a gypsy's tent, and an inn called the Jumping Roo. The first stop for any traveler is of course the inn.

When I said Dragonhallow was built much like Endclif I meant it. This inn is damn near identical to the Flappy Stingray inn we'd stayed at when we first arrived on the island aside from the fact that the wood looked a bit lighter. Annie says that these planks are actually made from the glowing fungus. I like the idea of using what is at hand especially when it's a quality material like this. Even the old woman shuffling around is similar to the one in the Flappy Stingray. I will be sure to ask about whatever food she places in front of me. We worked out the details for lodgings, and I was a bit surprised to find that gold coins are still valued down here. Being the only visitors for over a month meant there were enough open rooms for each of us to have our own. A little privacy makes writing so much easier.

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The curio shop is called the Gold and Silver Shop, a name more fitting for a bank or money lender I think. A bell rang as we walked into an open store with lots of glass cases. I heard creaking wood as the shop's owner came out from a room in the back. He welcomed us to his pawn shop, which confused me severely, and asked if we were buying or selling. He said he only dealt in things he found interesting and that meant curiosities, so around town the shop is a curio store. I showed him the drinking mug I'd found and he was interested, just for a price I knew was ridiculously too low. It took a little doing but I managed to show him just how much craftsmanship there was to it and we struck a more favorable deal. If I were more of a drinker maybe I'd have trouble letting go of it but I'd rather accumulate a fortune than trinkets like that.

While I was counting my coins Zanvar was focused in on one very specific coin in a display case. The shopkeeper placed it on the counter talking about it and the previous owner who'd sold it to him. Every day when the coin is flipped it will spell fortune or doom for whatever the person wishes while flipping it. It had apparently destroyed the man's life when he used it to wish for a wife. Zanvar held it up to the light, not convinced of its magical ability. He flipped it as a test, wishing that the shopkeeper would gift the coin to him. The two faces of the coin are identical but we knew that it had been successful when he was allowed to pocket it. I'm worried that whatever spell the coin cast over him will wear off and he'll come banging on our door looking to take back his magical artifact. The man outside is more than enough to deter me from making risky moves like that.

The gypsy's tent was set up on the edge of town so we walked down a couple of alley ways to get there. Eric stopped us all when we walked past an unassuming home. Above the doorway was a carved figure of a phoenix. He insisted we meet whoever lived there. An orc woman answered his knock and he immediately started to grill her for information. “Who built this house?” “Do you know what that figure is?” “Who are you?” She didn't know, she'd moved in after it was already built. She knew it was the phoenix above her door. Her name is a name that is pleasure for my tongue to say. Mollie.

Her young daughter came wobbling from behind her demanding her attention. She held her close to her hips and pat her head. She asked Eric if he would consider doing a favor for her and look for her man. He refused outright so she turned to me. It's not often that I have trouble spitting something out but when she looked me in the eyes I was tongue tied. All I could manage was a nod. She sighed in relief, he's been missing for the entire day and she needs help with her daughter. She introduced her as Meh. She said something I couldn't understand while gnawing on a bone. Her mother had only taught her how to speak in Orcish. She's a funny child constantly pointing to the little teeth in her mouth. Before we left I was able to ask what she meant by her man. The two aren't married but she said she would be happy to find a husband. I feel a fire in my heart unlike any I've felt before.

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Oh Mollie, my words flow so freely now. You are a muse, an angle! My talents are not enough to describe your beauty. Were my name cupid I would save my truest arrow for your heart. Your warm, motherly smile melts away my worries. Thinking of your eyes steals away my time but I would do it for days. Your bosoms would envelop me in an embrace I'd thought only existed in dreams. Your muscular body, thin yet strong, needs no protection yet I wish to shield you and your daughter. You are opening my eyes and expanding my horizons beyond anything I'd hoped to find in this deep dark pit. You are the diamond in the rough, waiting for someone to bring you to the surface. I will win your affections if I have to move heaven and earth to do so.

The tent was much more permanent than I thought it'd be, more of a building partially constructed with cloth. The gypsy's door was open and inside was an inviting yellow glow. Thug lead us through an impossibly expansive maze of shelves packed to the gills with different reagents, books, and bottles. At the end there was a yellow shining globe hanging from the ceiling above a pair of chairs. Thug's friend came from behind and spooked Few, she was less than amused. Ziaka is a snake woman, mostly snake. Her body winded around the two seats until she ended between them. Her head is like a cobra's, with tan scales covering her body. She has no legs, just arms. Her tongue flicks out constantly just like any snake's.

Ziaka offered a seat next to her, and like the gentlemen we are me and Zanvar obliged. She ran her clawed fingers along my arms while humming a tune I don't think anyone who wasn't a snake could. She said I have nice skin, and I do, but she was disappointing that I had nothing adorning it. She examined Zanvar before he could stop her. She hissed and ordered him to get out, shouting there was nothing for him here. She calmed down once he was out of the room. Her trade is an enchantress and her passion is body art. She's found a way to intertwine the two, using her tongue to both tattoo the flesh while chanting magic to imbue a person with ability enhancing magic. Several of them sound like they might be of particular use to me, however I'm hesitant to permanently change my body especially after a being complimented on it.

Whether any of us wanted a tattoo or not was unimportant because Ziaka had a favor to ask us. A simple task, just pick up some ink from the inventor's home when he was finished synthesizing it. This was more easily accepted by the others as something worth doing. Eric seemed to be keen on the idea of a tattoo to help him channel his deity. If I were the religious type I'm sure I'd also want to show my dedication with something like that.

By the time Thug had finished touring the town and taken us back to the inn the mushrooms were so dim that walking without light was becoming a problem. I kept my eyes peeled for the man Mollie is after but I couldn't find him, I did learn that he wears glasses though. I'm going to insist that we find him tomorrow. Dinner was mostly whatever roots could be dug up from the garden aside from a smelly fish steak. The old maid isn't a terrible cook but the ingredients here aren't very good. Today was refreshing, nothing to fight or labors to endure, just a stroll around a new place. I hope to see more days like this soon.

You may recognize the curio shop owner from a little show called Pawn Stars. The loveable Chumlee had graced our campaign. The picture of him is from a tasty little article about his trouble with the law. http://gephardtdaily.com/entertainment/pawn-stars-chumlee-pleads-guilty-avoid-jail-time/

The map and the art of Mollie and Meh were both made by the DM http://garloo2.tumblr.com/