As we healed up and supplied ourselves thanks to the hospitality of the monks, I began to grow anxious, as that would surely mean an impending end to our stay in the monastery, and the place still had secrets to unravel. I tried to persuade the expedition leader, but my pleas had remained unheard. I already knew of the Spear of Seasons that was in possession of the druid Hierophant but I was certain that the abbot of the monastery had the second of the sacred Brewmaster’s items, and I refused to leave the place before I got to know what it is and what it does. What I had done to gain this knowledge may seem petty to many, but I will not return from this expedition and present only ifs and maybes to the scholarly community. The night before our departure I concocted a potion that could allow me to gain the appearance of another, and I disguised myself as one of the monks. For all the ominous powers and mysteries they hold, they surely aren’t well versed in the arts of deception and fooling them proved to be a trivial task. With just a few sleights of hand and well put words I managed to find my way to the abbot’s chamber. The abbot was in a deep slumber thanks to the sleeping draught, that was handily put in his evening ale. In the room I noticed an ornamental pedestal and on it a short staff of peculiar sort; covered in vines and hop leaves and with a hop cone as its head, I immediately identified it as the artefact I sought and an idea came to my mind. Surely I wouldn’t be able to study it thoroughly in such a short span of time, and with this notion I grabbed it from its pedestal and hid it under my robe and began to meander to my room. I didn’t dare study it during the night, and I impatiently awaited the morning. It seems the fate favoured me, for our expedition departed without any troubles and the abbot was apparently still in deep sleep. As we gained some distance, I produced the staff from my robes and began to study it. This surely wasn’t a weapon, but it undoubtedly contained vast sources of magic energy. One of the first powers that I had found out was the ability to turn water into ale, which gained me the deserved respect and praise of the expedition. Touching a creature with the cone also seemed to clear the mind and cause an overwhelming sense of calmness. I hoped the staff could be used for some nefarious purposes, as the brute of a expedition leader was the cause of major irking and ire to me and I hoped that the power I now held would allow me to reciprocate his behaviour. To my fortune, the staff seemed to hold a power as petty as my desires were. Without any alcohol whatsoever it caused him to drunkenly fall from his horse, stumble over a tree stump and fall unconscious in his own puke. I know not what awaits us in our ordeal, but I am hopeful, for this discovery will certainly gain me my long deserved praise in the scholarly community once I return.