Bears?!

 I must write this down now, lest I dismiss it as a dream later. For all I know, it WAS a dream -- or IS a dream. Perhaps this whole journey has been a dream and I will wake soon to begin my travels and learning.

But, I AM learning. Could Master Quoth have created a dream for me to travel in without actually leaving the monastery? It seems more possible than the events that have occurred since going to sleep that night.

In any case, the events of the past day were...interesting. I woke from blackness into blackness. For some reason I was sitting in a chair, and tied to it. But, the more notable detail was that I was not in the correct form. I existed as a honey badger. This is not metaphorical, but literally a honey badger. The two companions I met the day before (was it only one day?) were similarly transformed into a black bear and a polar bear, though distinctively themselves despite the transformation. They were tied to their own chairs, and we had scarcely begun to take in our odd circumstances when they became odder.

A door opened and a grizzly named Flora. She had assumed we worked for a bear named Big E. Yet again, we were at a loss over information that someone thought we had. This is becoming a pattern. Apparently, this Big E had stolen her honey...ledger, which she needs to run her black (bear) market honey speak easy. She thought it would be in a safe in an office in the basement of a warehouse on the other side of a lake. After "agreeing" to retrieve it, we left, walking through a VERY strange building to find a VERY strange world outside. 

There were scores of carts outside. All armored and driven by some magic -- not a single horse or ox to be found. There must be so much battle here that all the carts are covered with armor. They moved faster than the fastest chariot. Nethara was able to figure one out, and we zoomed to find our destination. She located it and we got in fairly easily. We were almost able to beeline directly to the basement and the office. Avery battered the door down, and then battered the safe in (once Nethara had found it). I was able to pry it open and grab everything out of it, but it made a lot of noise that didn't stop.

As we ran to escape the building, all the doors we had gone through had gates descending on them. We were unable to slide under them all, and I lost my center. I panicked, and frantically clawed through several. As we exited the building, two large black carts bearing bears arrived. We ran, but they followed in their armored carts. They had some sort of loud firecracker slings, but Nethara had been given one as well, and stopped one, where I threw an odd staff I had procured and pierced the driver of the other. Having eliminated our pursuit, we returned to Flora's place and gave her everything we found.

There was one page that meant absolutely nothing to Flora, but the symbol it was marked with was familiar, though I've never seen it. I know that it is evil, though I do not know HOW I know that. It said only "Thanks for the favor. We'll be in touch. --K" I fear this will have more far-reaching repercussions than honey. Oh, but the honey is good.

During our foray, I was suddenly reminded of a vignette from my childhood. I saw it as if I were there again, in Master Clegg's study. Finding his stars and teaching myself to throw them properly. Ruining several of his woodcuts. Why that memory? What am I trying to learn? I will need to meditate on this soon.