<<<21 Feb 2057, 16:02—Eye of the Eagle
(NAN II) >>>

Well, we're in the thick of it now. I wanted a bit of excitement to take my mind off previous events; perhaps I should be careful what I ask for.

We arrived in Kemano after a long detour around the destroyed bridge. Did a bit of nosing around and discovered that the fire in the town had been caused by someone (most likely the same people who were responsible for the bridge's untimely demise) attempting to blow up the local power plant with a rocket launcher. We got into an altercation with a rigger and a Shark shaman who were watching the power plant, and from the Shark shaman we discovered that the terrorists are members of a group called H-NAL, consisting of the more radical element of two of the underclass tribes in the area. We considered turning the shaman over to the local law, but hesitated when I pointed out that we still didn't have a clear grasp of the political situation.

Following this, we went into town to follow up a lead that took us to a bar called the "Randy Sasquatch" (please don't ask about their mascot) to look for a man named "Nightingale." I have rarely felt so uncomfortable among a group of people as I did in that bar--'Wraith was in his Jack McCovney disguise, which meant he looked like an Aztlaner, leaving Ocelot and myself to fight it out for whitest man in the territory. I think I won. It quickly became obvious that anyone who wasn't Amerind must tread very carefully to avoid confrontation. Ocelot, 'Wraith and I did our best to sit at a corner table and stay out of trouble while Joe spoke with Nightingale.

Unfortunately, the name Joe chose to drop turned out to be that of someone they considered to be a "traitor." I picked up this bit of information with a Clairaudience spell as we were leaving. Fearing an ambush, Joe suggested we set up a fake camp and burrow beneath the snow nearby. Sleeping under the snow was not my idea of a good way to spend an evening, but since I couldn't suggest a better idea, I grudgingly agreed. Frankly, in a situation such as this, I was flattered that he would even solicit my opinion on the matter, as I was clearly far out of my element and would not in any likelihood have been able to come up with a useful plan of action.

It turned out that it probably wouldn't have mattered. The strike team they sent after us had not one but *two* mages, one of whom made short work of 'Wraith's spell lock (I still maintain that, although in retrospect it would have been prudent to turn off the spell locks, they would have had no trouble finding us, and besides, the fight might have gone worse for us had we not had them active when we were attacked.)

That fight was one of the hardest we'd ever had. I made a grave tactical error by attempting (before I knew about the second mage) to use my Mana Inferno spell again--I assumed that it would take down the three of them that I could see easily. Unfortunately, with their magical support, I only got one, and passed out from the drain. That was the last I knew about the fight.

When I awakened, I was in the truck with a splitting headache, and it was about forty minutes later. Joe had been gravely injured by one of the mages, so I was pressed into service as soon as I felt up to it to heal not only him, but Ocelot and 'Wraith as well. It disturbs me to see how close we came to losing that fight. Must be more careful next time. We're a long way from home in hostile territory, and we can't count on any backup. Caution is most assuredly the watchword.

We're currently resting and gathering our strength in the medicine lodge of the Shark shaman we questioned earlier (he won't be needing it anymore). We're now even more confused about who is causing the "threat to the land" that Farseer spoke of, considering that one of the strike team (at least) was a member of Earth First, a radical terrorist arm (according to Ocelot) of the Terra First ecological protection organisation. Why would people like that be interested in destroying the land?

I hope that all will come clear soon. I think I need a long rest.