\--==Official Submission==-- FROM: Lieutenant Junior-Grade Haplo RE: The Keeper Returns Gentlemen, My apologies for my absentee reports. As of late I've been spending alot of time on my own raising funds for my magery experience. Not an excuse, just a reason. As for the current state of affairs, I've some news to report. Of course those of you who were along for the foray into the ice dungeon don't need my report on what happend, so I'll keep it brief. We made it out alive after some trouble with ice and frost elementals. A commendatation to those who call came (I'm not going to list everyone because I don't remember everyone) After our successful trip into the ice dungeon, a trip over to harass the orcs seemed to be a good idea. Draven made the call and Myself, Darius, Gal, Shadow, and Venom headed over to give them some grief. Unfortunately, things went bad. After some bad recon work by my part, we sorely underestimated their number and ended up getting trapped and barly escaping with our lives. Things continued to slowly spiral downwards as an attack by the CA nearly decimated our number. Again, several of us were there, but it seemed disorganized and unruly. General, I do believe some cooperative training missions may be in order. It seems we've all forgotten how to take orders and everyone seems to be wondering aimlessly about. Perhaps the troops need to be reminded that the best way to stay alive is to follow orders and stay close together. As for affairs in the world at large, Winterfell continues it's decline. The church has broken away from Winterfell proper, as has house Shadune. Things are not looking good there. Martial law is still in effect in Trinsic, and it seems the pirates have been causeing more and more trouble there. Perhaps a foray into Trinsic to show the pirates that they are not wanted there might not be a bad idea. The Alliance seems to be getting restless again. Perhaps the Guardian tired of their disorganization and has begun to exert some force in getting them back on track. Finally, I'm disturbed about the code. I've been trying to keep track of markers that have been handed out, but it seems that none are being given. Is it that the code is not being taken seriously? Or perhaps the men have just ceased to interact with society's mainstream. If it's the former, then a reminder might not be a bad idea, if it's the latter, that concerns me. Inteligence is one of the most important things for us, and if we lack information as to what's going on in the world, then we put ourselves at risk. We need to make sure the men our out there, doing what they need to do. Our strenth in the future lies in the markers that we hand out now. The code must be adhered to or abandoned. Finally, it seems that something new is coming about. Im researching it now and will inform you more when I can gather some solid information. Yours in service to the Rose, Lt. JG Haplo Darkblade Keeper of the Annals