Timlin - The Kindred Outpost

• We return to the caves; this time Roland, Nightengale, and John are tagging along, and it looks like Xanthar has recovered from whatever plague was affecting him.
• We find a pool. I'm certain this thing is dangerous, but we throw a rock in and nother happens. Sure enough, out come weird undead fish things. We dispatch them with relative ease, then send Roland down and he finds some useful trinkets, including a crossbow that can't be broken. I'm eager to study the magic that gives it such fortitude later.
• We encounter some more mephits and Alena comes in danger due to poor positioning. This was totally unacceptable, she could have been killed, poor thing. I end up getting blinded, just punishment I suppose, but we are able to put the remaining creatures out of their misery.
• We find some ruined structures that don't seem to have anything of value, then manage to circle back and find a chest. Xanthar thinks he can open it, but didn't I see this in my dream? With a sudden click he opens it. The strangest feeling of deja vu ...
• There are some scrolls and gold inside that we take. I'm not able to decipher the scrolls but I think they point to something valuable.
• We make it to the kindred outpost! This is where things don't go very well. I thought Roland was a master negotiator but he seemed to freeze up when we sent him to discuss terms.
• A dragonborn named Kalista is leading the Kindred. We talk to her a little bit and she decides she doesn't have to kill us, which is sporting of her. She tells us a little bit about why the Kindred are here, and it sounds like a "Life's Calling" kind of situation. Unfortunately I already have one of those, and it does not involve spending the rest of my life in the dark. Instead we agree to an exchange of services: She lets us camp at the outpost and I supply her with alarm spells for her perimeter.
• Kalista also tells us about some ruins that seem to match the description on the scrolls we found. I'm interested in investigating this further, as ruins are a great place to find artifacts of power. Alena says this is a good idea. Kalista also tells us about "wyrmlings". We fought one of these earlier, the ones with acid for blood. I'd like to deal with these but don't feel confident in our abilities just yet.
• I've been trying a few advanced techniques from the books back at seminary, the kind of stuff we weren't supposed to look at. Alena was always looking at that stuff. She keeps telling me to try harder, to reach deeper into the well of the arcane. I think I can manage the sphere now. Last time was a complete disaster and I'm very lucky nobody found out about it. This time will be different. Also I was thinking about my talk with Kalista. No one's ever accused me of being the kind of person they'd like to spend time with, but I could almost feel the threads of her desire laid bare to me. Perhaps I could manipulate those desires with a spell. A potent weapon to wield indeed ...