Honored Nightmare Tebryn,
I file this letter to report my findings on the world above. Illustrations have been provided to function in the place of verbal descriptions, particularly when such subjects have been too intricately detailed for words.
On the matter of the surface races; the humans. The humans are, as the texts provided by Orgolloyss say, taller, hardier, and shorter-lived than we. However, they are not the absolute chaotic beings we have been led to believe. They do not go out into the world, then come back an entirely different person within the span of a day. True, their perception of time is much quicker than ours…which can give the impression of chaos. There is an order to their madness, though; they are very independent and individualistic. I have yet to find two humans who agree implicitly about the same issue; there are always provisos. Some of them can be rude, crude, and positively racist, while their own brother could be a perfect gentleman. Their settlements are sprawling, only the most important buildings and cities seem to have been planned out beforehand. This is partly due to their lower standard of living, and also due to their shorter lifespan, it seems. Details on the other races to come in subsequent letters.
Wealth is abundant here. In the short weeks I have spent wandering the range around the former human capitol, I have accumulated many thousands of gold coins, and put them into use improving my standing locally, overpaying for goods, buying and rebuilding properties…it seems to have overridden the initial suspicions so far. Which brings up the next point.
There is land here that no one owns. There is so much space up here that the human nation cannot police or effectively keep all of it under their scrutiny. I have tested this in taking an abandoned dungeon as my abode for the next century while I study the humans. No reprisals so far.
My next letter will detail the surviving gnomes of Akellon that I have seen, and a new breed which has appeared recently, as well as the state of the surface elves as I have found them; further study is needed to properly identify their quirks.
Until next time
Sszyel Terror of Orgolloyss