After mourning the loss of our fallen brethren, we were able to replenish some of our losses. Ajax remembered that he could somehow activate the giant statues we’d seen upstairs! They came to life and were pledged to fight by our side. I thank Com Durak for this incredible gift.

We searched the lower level, but every room appeared to have been thoroughly looted. The furniture was thrown about with disregard. It’s sad to see such finery treated as trash. And in a sacred temple! Whoever did this has no respect for the Gods. In one of the rooms, I found a peculiar little figurine. It was a man with wings! He looked like he was wearing a harness with wings attached to it. It intrigued me because I’d never seen men attempt to fly in such a fashion! I think I’ll keep it, and see if I can find the meaning behind it.

After this, we encountered a most… Disturbing enemy. It was a man dressed in black robes. When he laid eyes on Bingo, he thrust forth his fingers and shot a bolt of deathly energy at him. Luckily, he missed, and Gi’ Kar cut him down immediately. But when he pulled his blade from the man’s chest, it was not covered with blood, but some vile black thing. I can’t imagine, and I really don’t want to know, what ran in this man’s veins. His other hand was clutching a piece of paper when he died. It read: Dru Te’Pa. Ajax confirmed it was in the language of his God, but he was not sure what it meant.

When the time came to head down again, Ajax told me the power word for the stone because we couldn’t fit everyone on it. He went down with Bingo, Gi’ Kar, and one of our stone friends. I took the last of us and stood on the stone, but though I listened carefully to Ajax when he told me the words, I just could not seem to get it to work! I was becoming frustrated beyond belief as my small party was stuck sitting on the stone, trying to will it to work. Finally, I rethought the way I was saying it, and the stone took us down to the lower level. As soon as we were down we could hear the sounds of battle. I rounded the corner and saw my brothers in the heat of an intense fight. Just as I got there, Ajax was speared through the middle, and fell in a bloody heap in the corner. I rushed to him and spoke the words of power. Luckily, some of his wounds closed up, but he was still hurting. I turned to see Bingo make a spectacular maneuver off the wall to cleave one of our foes in half. Only after did I realize that Bingo had been on the wall! He’s a wall crawler! Spectacular! I’d heard stories of Sol Kal who could do this, but I’d never seen one in real life.

Eventually, we prevailed in this battle, but we paid dearly with our blood. I’ve tried my best to heal our team, but I just feel so drained. I’m not sure how much more help I’ll be to them for a while.