describing the atrocity that came out into the light on that day. Part snake, part rat, part ... something else ... and part woman.

As we gathered around her, we didn't know what to do. She couldn't talk or even move any further. She'd used whatever energy she had to drag her bulk several paces away from the hut, but her pain was clearly intense. She mouthed the word "Kill Me" over and over, staring at each one of us in turn until the Elders arrived.

Brother Samuel, a master healer, laid his hands upon her but could do nothing. She was dying ... slowly ... in agony. He did the only thing he could. He laid his hands on her once more and took her pain ... and her life away, removing her from her misery.

The Circle confronted Balek very soon after that, and he was banished. I wonder if that was the best solution. Maybe we should have tried to help him, instead of turning our backs. Think of the lives that would have been saved.

But, as I sit here writing these troublesome thoughts, I have only to look over my shoulder at the bag containing Balek's severed head to know that it doesn't matter. He deeds are done and he's paid the price for his beliefs however warped they might have been.

How many of us would be willing to pay such for our convictions?

Kythorn 14, 1372
Mosstone

Yet another eventful week has past. This is the first time we've been in one place long enough for me to write.

After reporting to The Council of our encounter with Balek and with proof of his demise, messages were sent to the desert hearlding our 

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