My experience with killing large bugs continues to pay off. We have now encountered oversize beetles and wasps in addition to the centipedes mentioned in my earlier entry. They are formidable foes, however, I suspect that our difficulty in dispatching them is in no small part due to the fact that we are fighting them in an environment that favors their tactics. Were we able to engage them in a larger space, or even more preferably, in the open air, I believe that we would have more success.
Compared to other dwarves, very little of my life has been spent underground, but it seems this has not prevented me from developing a natural genetic talent for gauging depth and evaluating stone work. We found ourselves in both a tunnel and a cavern, and I was able to move about comfortably. I wouldn't say that I felt at home, as such feelings have eluded me since leaving the enclave.
At one point, Soromir freed an earth elemental. Elementals bother me. By all accounts, they are alive, but that point of view disagrees with me. To me, they are naught by animated compounds; they lack fundamental qualities that give plants and animals life. For instance, how does an elemental consume energy? No answer to this question has properly satisfied me.
Therefore, I wished to have nothing to do with the freeing of the thing, or at all. When it lumbered down the stairs, I discovered that I was impeding it's ingress to the lower levels. I attempted to give it room, but that was not enough for this monstrosity, and I was rudely tossed aside. I could not abide this insult, and therefore made an attempt to demonstrate the superiority of my skills and value as a living being. I make a point herein to note that my action - to grow the vines around the staircase and entangle the elemental - was not an act of violence, but it was an act of restraint and suppression. At no point did I seek to harm the elemental, as it clearly did not wish me ill.
Unfortunately, the elemental destroyed the stairs. I accept responsibility for my role in the destruction, yet maintain that my actions were justified. I presented an airtight, irrefutable defense of these actions, but Soromir was clearly emotional, and reacted with violence to a point where I insisted that he verbally confirm that he was not a threat to me before I would let him get near me again. My intuition tells me that the hexblade's reaction can be explained by a past traumatic event which has far-reaching impacts into his psyche, much like a hound who is abused by his master. I have chosen not to pry further, but rather, I have filled in the blanks and am now quite sure that at some point in the past, Soromir was mated to one of these elementals, but it met a tragic end.
In other news, the little one known as Ostar is developing a healthy sense of self-preservation. He attempted to disarm a trap and was almost killed by it. Only the decrepit state of the trap spared him from his fate. I hope that he will be more careful in the future, as he is very small. He would increase his chances of survival by avoiding danger, perhaps through hiding or cowering. Seeing as how the experience of the trap had left him shaken, I offered him words of encouragement, but allowed him to draw his own conclusions.
Also, I have noticed that Orinthal has a low opinion of me. To be fair, he has a low opinion of most of us, but he is not shy when it comes to expressing his disdain for me. I believe he thinks I lack the intelligence necessary to be one of his traveling companions. If possible, I will find more opportunities to demonstrate my value, but I am not overly motivated to change his mind.
Entry concluded.
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